about a on magazines recent article looking at the history and safety of ecigarettes. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- host: good morning. it's wednesday, april 30, 2014. the house and senate are expected to both be in today. a test vote on the federal minimum wage increase is expected in the senate. and overseas, iraqis are headed to the poll in the first parliamentary election. we'll talk about that later this morning. but first on the "washington journal," a controversy surrounding an nba owner's comments that's prompted a renewed discussion of race relations in america. we're opening up our phone lines this morning to take on that

discussion as we ask our viewers how far as the u.s. come on the issue of race relations and how much further do we need to go? and what are your thoughts on how elected officials handle this issue? give us a call. if you're in the eastern or central time zone, call us at 202-585-3880. if you're in the pacific time 81. s, it's 202-582-38 you can also go to facebook or twitter. and a good wednesday morning to you. that story out of the nba. "the san francisco chronicle" this morning. nba stands strong in punishing racism. here's the "los angeles times." banned for life. clippers owner donald sterling is fined $2.5 million. the commissioner said he will press for a sale of a team.

that's commissioner adam silver and the nba commissioner. and then there's a photo from the front page of the "u.s.a. today" sports photo. "america, enough is enough. equality." e demand the story the issue and its broader implications also making it into the papers. here's a few more headlines from "u.s.a. today." "racist rants are sadly all too family." a column by a lady who writes the banned for life los angeles clippers owner offers how racial differences continue to create painful realities. but we have been here before, she writes. and as a haitian-american black woman, i venture to say we will be here again. here being a place are the whole country is focused on one individual caught saying

discriminatory things -- host: that's her column in today's "u.s.a. today." another headline below has the impact well beyond the world of sports. that also in the "u.s.a. today." also i want to read you a bit from the editorial board of the "wall street journal" also on this subject. the editorial board of "wall street journal" writes --

host: a few different views on this subject today. we're talking about it this morning in our first 45 minutes on the jashjash. it's also the subject of several hundred comments on our facebook page, facebook.com/c-span. a few comments on our questions.

how far have we come? tina writes since obama took office, it appears we've taken a step backwards. and below that -- we're opening up our phones this morning as a forum. the larger issues of race relations in america and we'll start with david calling in from atlanta, georgia. david, good morning. caller: yes. host: morning, david. caller: thank you. by me basically being from the south, you know, what donald sterling is saying is basing the mentality which most white people have. you have people still flying the

confederate flag and things. they actually lost a war and things. they know how -- but the problem that it see is also mr. sterling was jewish. he also made some comments about israel and blacks. did they think that we are dogs in israel. if more of these answers would be put out -- host: david, let me ask you. what do you think the role of public figures is in this debate? take it to the larger public policy realm. caller: what i think should be done, you know, in situation like this is the courts are basically trying to turn back, you know, things that we blacks have suffered for and through like the civil rights act and affirmative action and these different types of things, all these are coming because we have a black president in office and a lot of people -- you know, like i say, i live with these people. i've seen racism up personal, up close and personal. some of my people have been hung

and lynched and things down here in the south. paula deen made a statement about how -- and "duck dynasty," how we feel -- we are all right as slaves and we was all right doing the ant blum and south. no, we had do that in order to survive, in order for the next generation to come and try to hange. host: that's david calling in from atlanta, georgia. let's go to cornell waiting in new jersey. race relations in the u.s. how far have we come? caller: we've come a long way but we have a long twice go and that is indicative of when president obama was elected.

it shows what the filibusters alone has had 30 something filibusters but with all the president combined and now, they have filibustered him over 400 times. no one has ever disrespected the office that the presidency is screaming out during the speech. >> and do you think it's a difference in politics or you think there's a racial angle to this? caller: oh, definitely a racial angle to it because the policy that he's put forth, they have been trying to do health care for decades. what i'm disappointed in is that he's reached out to the republicans as far as he's made more republicans appointments than any other democrats that i can remember in my lifetime and yet still be vilified. he has -- he's got the health care that they do have. it's really a republican plan.

if it was a democratic plan, it would be a single pair option or a single pair system or a public option. now, i'm a democrat, but i'm going going i'm not to force my views on people eaning the pro-choice thing. host: mary is up next. good morning. caller: good morning. race relations, we've come a long, long way. we have a black president. we have people that own teams. we have all of the things. we do the same things as white people -- that white people do as black people. but i still have to say am i going to be treated fair when i go to the store? am i going to be treated fair if i go block this reservation for the hotel? and i still have to tell the

sons and family how to behave when you're driving so you won't get arrested for nothing. and we still have to do this. why did the president have to show his birth certificate to the likes of donald trump? donald trump and people like that represent the racism that we're trying to get rid of. host: mary what, do you think the role of the federal government is? we're coming up on the 50th anniversary of the civil rights act of 1964. there's been questions out there. is it time for another civil rights act? caller: yes, it is. it's time for the one that we have to be strengthened and to keep going. without the federal government, we would be have been riots on the streets. as my neighborhood, we're tired. we're tired of hearing the racist calls. when the president was elected and then we had town hall meetings, white men showed up with guns as if this man's going to take their right to arm themselves away. we still have a lovely world we live in.

we have blacks, whites, asian, hispanics, everybody ready to live together. we just have to get rid of this element that still exists called abundant racism. host: carol olds writes in -- great strides and race relations are shown by the outrage of sterling's rant. the last vestige of racism will doon sigh with the -- soon die with the old. let's go to heather virginia. heather, good morning. caller: good morning. ell, about the -- i think that racism is beyond color, mother, beyond child. mean, we are basically being bred out. they're continuing their bloodline, their heritage, their riches, their roles and i don't

think that little guy is out. i think that they have a set and to effect that they are definitely going to be here for all that time. host: and heather, who is they you're talking about? caller: i really don't know, the doctors, the government, the rich people. i'm a broke white female. i have a little girl and i think victimized and nobody has stood up and say how they are changing, how we raise our children. all the children is born with a defects and everything. and it's crazy the research they do with our d.n.a., with the animals and all kinds of stuff. and it's just -- they will not die. host: heather in virginia this morning. a few of our callers brought pup the civil rights act of 1964 and we talked about it already.

here's a recent gallup poll on public opinion 50 years after the civil rights act of 1964. one of the findings of the polling work that report that came out earlier this month. a majority of americans continue to believe that a solution to the race problems in this country will eventually be worked out although blacks are somewhat less optimistic than whites, gallup finds. attitudes have changed overtime. first in the more negative direction including in particular, a starkly negative poll conducted in 1995 after the o.j. simpson verdict. after that attitudes have become more positive as of last summer. 58% of americans said that a solution to relations between blacks and whites will be worked out while 40% say it will always be a problem. gallup found blacks are less positive than whites that a solution the race problem will be worked out. --

we'll bring you some more from some of that polling work from gallup, but our phones are open as we're asking our viewers race relations in the u.s. how far have we come? and what is the role of public officials in this debate that's happening in the country? larry is in a coma, washington. larry, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you doing this morning? host: i'm good, sir. go ahead. caller: i think race relationships have improved but we still have a long way to go, sir. because a friend of mine plays professional sports and i won't mention his name, but he went to go get an apartment and he got discriminated against and he millions. and personally, i've been discriminated basically all my life and i work for a fortune 500 company and i'm 52 years

old. and when they hire, they never hired anyone of the black color all and i'm quite sure those people that are in mccord, there's a lot of african-american men that are out there that are qualified to do those jobs. but there's too much nepotism and cronyism that's going on. host: that's larry in washington. a few more comments from twitter. race relations have not come far. american has come far in the act of denial by using institutional discrimination. and jim writes in. we have reached a point in america where freedom speech in one's own home is now punished at least if you're a rich white guy. here is a column by kathleen parker. she writes the past few days have provided a cornucopia of

reprehensible statements --

she goes on in that column that you can read in today's "washington post." but we're here to back forum for this debate here in the "washington journal" this morning for about the next half hour or so. randall's next in washington, d.c. randall, good morning. caller: well, i think actually -- i know this is a short segment. part of the problem is is with poor whites who actually have a lot in common with blacks. but because of hate and -- host: randall, are you still there? caller: yes. can you hear me? host: go ahead. caller: because of hate and racism, blacks and whites aren't getting together. and that's because you know, the laws change. the sentiment is still there, which is what the laws were

based on. additionally, the structural racism is not addressed and for some reason, we see signs of the racial problems, the message offense slavery, why black people are behind and we see stuff with tavon martin and other young blacks being killed in the south and they're calling it -- and not recognizing it as murders. they're calling it suicides and stuff like that -- host: so randall, what's the role of government here? what's the role of elected officials in this debate? caller: so here's the problem. unless they can do more, because of the large sentiment and indifference about racism about white people. yes, you may not directly discriminate but it's that thing that is like that you think until the attic.

obviously, we want to change. but we don't have the power to change it. host: randall in washington, d.c. let's go to judy waiting in conley springs, north carolina. judy, good morning. caller: good morning. i would like to say that i am 65 and i've lived through a lot of these things. our was in high school, high school was integrated. it was the first year that the black students came to our school and there was a little bit of tension, but we learned to get along and of course, things -- i remember in a small southern town and we got along well. duringed tv reports that the 1960's in boston when the schools were integrated. there were buses that were gangs

of people surrounded and there were some terrorism up there too. i think the south gets a bad rap a lot of times. i wanted to say that there's racism on both sides and 2012 when maxine waters called john boehner in it and she did not want to feed them, she did not want to feed them in the house, congress, she didn't want to feed them at all. that was a racist statement as well. i think there's a lot of it on both sides. and i hate when there's a policy different in the congress and between the three branches of the government. i hate to see it attributed to race rich. i can remember when there were -- racism. i can remember when george w. bush said an effigy and that was a lot of disrespect there too.

i see some pretty bad things that go on but i hate that racism ris blamed for it when quite often it's a policy difference, it's not a race issue. and i thank you for listening. i thank you for c-span. i really enjoy it. host: judy calling in from conley springs, north carolina. a comment from theo on twitter. there is racism in america? yes. for example, those who voted for obama just because of his skin color. bill writes in. this is getting old and racism is getting to be an old excuse for not taking personal responsibility. let's go to patrick waiting in san augustin, texas. patrick, good morning. caller: good morning. how are you doing, sir? host: i'm good. caller: i come from a small town

and in the small town i'm from, you know, it's probably like the jim crow, you know -- it's still, you know, people, you know, black and white, people separating from each other, you know. host: and patrick, tell us some examples. hat do you see specifically? caller: well, from in the areas racial they -- profiling. they have certain types of people. nd i don't feel like if they mix with -- as far as i can say their people as much as our people, you know. we don't mess with their people but they mess with our people more than -- the white america. host: patrick, when you say

their people and our people, do you mean racial lines that you're drawing there? caller: yes, sir. i mean, we're all the same people. we all have the same color, but why the african-american race or even the hispanic race or any other race have more problems than the white america? host: all right. that's patrick calling in from texas. the issue of racial inequality coming up in a recent supreme court decision. the decision that upheld the michigan constitutional amendment banning the consideration of race in public university admissions. here's an article about that. justice sotomayor accuses colleagues trying to wish away racial inequality.

she noted john roberts' famous statement in 2007 that the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is stop discriminating on the basis of race. oo simplistic, she said -- john roberts responded with a short sharp statement of his own according to "the washington post" reporting on it. to disagree with the views on the cost and benefits of racial preferences is not to wish away rather than to confront racial inequality. people can disagree in good

faith but it does more harm than good to question the openness and candor of those on either side of the debate. that's a story from last week's "washington post" when that decision came out. those comments from sotomayor also the subject of a column by jennifer rubin who writes for the "washington post." she's talking about sotomayor's statement from the bench reading from her descent. she said steven briar did not join in the same sentiments. her dissent is of a piece and left wing outrage finding no factual basis for continued federal you suppertation --

if you want to read more, that's jennifer rubin's column in "the washington post." but we've got about 15 or 20 minutes left to continue this discussion with our viewers. we're asking race relations in the u.s. how far have we come? let's go to keith waiting in new york. keith, good morning. caller: yes. the misinformation by white people who are prejudice -- anybody can be prejudice but when you put prejudice into option that affects people's lives, that's racism. like the corporate control justices on the supreme court who pretend that racism doesn't exist, donald sterling, who sees his black players on the basketball team as slaves, and the donald trumps and the bundy who is don't pay their taxes.

so a lot of people get confused for -- or deflating the issue. racism, we've come to a point but people in power are trying o turn the clock back with suppressions and the republican party intent on cutting the social safety network and we see that the clock is being turned ack. and it is trying to be repealed. host: more from that gallup poll that we talked-a-earlier in this segment. some other findings. a majority of the blacks living in the it's continue to say that new civil rights laws are needed o protect blacks --

let's go to glen waiting in tennessee. glen, good morning. thanks for calling the "washington journal." caller: yes. thank you for letting me be able and i agree pinion 100% with justice sotomayor. and also i feel that racism is , bedded in american society sort of institutionalized right here. i agree with the caller from new york that says that racism is embedded into the media. it's embedded into the justice

system. when you look at the supreme court and you see the opinions, you see congress. feel that racism have been spared on the airways, unchecked for years. i mean, you look at the congress men that comes out and be on this show and that show and they ay the most outrageous things. and on fox news -- host: there's a question here from twitter from quagmire. you talk about some of the disagreements that you hear from members of conference. quagmire writes can a person disagree with the president without being called a racist?

quagmire says not in america today. what are your thoughts? caller: absolutely, 100% agree with facts. don't agree with the views. and that's what's happening now is those facts behind what they say and they are able to come stuff withoutthis being checked by the media here. host: jade. mills writes on twitter racial issues are gymed up by politicians who want to pursue an elite agenda. let's go to michigan next where jessie is waiting. jessie, good morning. jessie, are you there? caller: yeah, i'm there. oh, ok. do you hear me? host: yes, sir. caller: ok. people think we have come a long way in racism. they're just fooling themselves. you know, i'm 80 years old and

i've dealt with racism all my life. the criminal justice system doesn't work for african-americans at all. we have racist police. those ch the tv, keeping young black men on the streets and they never get punished. they're going to let them go with paid leave. you never hear anything else about them getting evicted for anything. -- and i see them killed then racism is just -- if we can pass more laws, but i don't think a little law is going to do it. people got to find in them laws to get out of this place. and ut of the -- racism --

want to say that we are branding ourselves in this country. people think that all black people are on welfare. they think all black people commit all the crime. white people don't do anything. that's an attitude that some of the white people have in this country. theyyou know, when they -- buy them to kill black people. people got to understand that -- host: jessie calling in from michigan this morning. i want to keep you updated on some of the news going on around the country as we continue this discussion for about the next 10 minutes or so. here's a front page of the "wall

street journal." justices provide pollution roles. the environmental protection agency can reinstate limits on power plant pollutions that blows across state lines as supreme court ruled on tuesday handing a defeat that opposed the effort as a costly regulatory overreach. - forte ever that's the lead story in today's "wall street journal." lead story in today's "u.s.a. today." g.o.p. cause new benghazi e-mails a smoking gun. an e-mail released tuesday that republicans shows white house officials wanted the 2012 assault on the u.s. consulate in benghazi blamed on a protest that never happened there. in the e-mail obtained by a

conservative watchdog group, deputy advisor ben rhodes lists goals for susan rice to explain the attack and protest occurring across the middle east that week for the american public. one other headlines to show you overseas. sectarian violence whites iraq process for change. talking about the vote going on in iraq today. right now, we'll be talking about that vote and what it means for that country and what it means for the united states

later in today's "washington journal." but we have about 10 minutes left to answer this question, continue the discussion in our forum here. race relations in the u.s. -- how far have we come? joel is from sherman oaks, california. joe, good morning. caller: hi, good morning. host: go ahead, joe. caller: ok. i woke up early. so you're lucky to have me today. as usual, america shooting itself in its feet along with c-span. sorry to say, but it's true. we have a population that live like it's in the kindergarten and it doesn't make sense to me. blacks, whites, we're not these colors. i'm not black and blacks are not black. they're brown, beige, purple, whatever you want to call it. but colors vary with different views. racism was invented from our past generations that were not very bright, evidently.

the fracas about sterling is purely a waste of everybody's time, including mine. sterling had an attack like every one of us has occasionally. the man is in his 80's and rich. $2.5 million fine might kill him off. that would be on the conscious of americans. black, white, we're all in the same boat. host: joel in sherman oaks, california. a freelancer writes racism supposes character flaws in people. it's those who exercise their power to hold them down while elevating themselves. here's a piece from eugene robinson in "the washington post" also on this issue who writes my sensibilities are not delicate. i grew up in south carolina as the civil rights movement reached a climax --

he ends his column by writing no, racism isn't back. it never went away. that's usage robinson writing in the "washington post." that's in yesterday's edition of "the washington post," one of several stories out there on this topic. they in light of the action by the nba. let's go to mark waiting in columbus, ohio. mark, good morning. caller: good morning. first of all, racism is good and alive in america although i choose not to call it racism. i think it's more like bigotry, ok? these dudes are bigots, ok? and that's proved by the way actedcreme -- congressmen

on the day obama was inaugurated by saying we're not going to do anything to help this man. you know, white people feel as though america's only owned by them. host: why do you say that? do you believe all white people feel that way? caller: well, for the majority -- i have to say yes. i mean, if you want me to be honest, yes. most white people feel that way, ok? that we have no place in this country. we're not smart enough to do anything around here, you know. host: and what are some examples that make you feel that way that most people -- white people feel that way? caller: you rig your elections. you make it to be like only white people are going to win the election. you have a bill of rights. if you really wanted us to have rights, you make it an amendment. you will not make it where every 20 years, i've got to go back

and sign something so these kind of people can act like they're part of this country. ok. we have to rights. host: what are you talking about there? go ahead. caller: i didn't hear you. host: every 20 years you have to go back and sign something? what are you talking about there, mark? caller: yeah, talking about the bill of rights. they're not rights. because if they was right, you wouldn't have to renew it every 20 years. host: all right, that's mark in columbus, ohio. we'll go to zachary calling in from california this morning. zachary, good morning. caller: hello? host: hi, zachary. caller: hi. so the question -- how far have we we come in terms of racism, right? host: yep. caller: well, i would think that it's a bigger issue than people are thinking about. people generally talk about matters of the behavior that people who are raceist exhibit,

scrim nation but they don't often think about what causes this. it's the mental processes behind these. we need to deal with that. host: zachary saying it's a mental health issue as much as a societal issue? caller: well, i wouldn't say mental health issue in terms of -- but more like it's a matter f thought process. like how we think based on how and we get earned these prejudices, that affects how we act around other people. and the only way to deal with

these things is by -- and that will take generations of work. host: all right. that's zachary calling in from alifornia. senator bob casies says the nba made the right decision in banning donald sterling for life. racism has no place in our society. several other members writing in their comments. keith ellison, thanks to sterling, bundy and robertson and deen for showing wealth access and profile have no bearing on morality fairness or intelligence. it is a good first step but more must be done. that's from our twitter page. the conversation also happening on our facebook page as well. we've got time for a new few

more calls let's go to earl from maryland. earl, good morning. caller: good morning, good morning. i preface my call by saying a white man speaks for a tongue and what you accept is what you teach and i listen to these conversations since the early 1980's when c-span used to be an idea and you come together and you share opinions but informed opinions. c-span has become an avenue now that you get opinions that are uninformed and you cater this because like one of your caller says, sometimes there's no feedback or no show on the fact and people do not deal with facts and you deal with just the emotion, there's no solution. there's not going to be a solution for this because you have changes. and something has to be greater than the part that is. -- this behavior in america

all those people that you mistreat eventually going to come back to bite you because the europeans have a tendency to forget their past. they only remember their glorious days but they'll forget the past of the people that they victimized and eventually when the people that you victimized back -- become aware, eventually, it's going to come to bite you. host: all right. that's earl calling in this morning. i want to update you on a few other stories. here's a story from reuters. enator reid opened a the eystone pipeline vote -- details were unclear bull in exchange for republican

supporting an energy efficiency bill, reid could approve the vote on the pipeline -- and the story from "the washington post" today. democratic leaders are working to bring a four vote on president obama's nominee to the federal reserve. the story notes that three -- hs -- three nominees

and then one other front page i wanted to show you this morning. this is the front page of the "washington times" talking about republicans gearing up in their effort to try to take control of both chambers of the capital next november in the midterm elections showing some polling from the real clear politics summary of polls. no help from above is the headline of the poll. president obama's sagging popularity could prove a drag on the democrats on the ballot this fall. the "washington times" writes back in april of 29 of 2013, the resident had a 1.6% approval rating and then it was pegged at 9.2 disapproval rating. those are just some of the

stories in today's papers but that's all the time that we have in the first segment of the "washington journal" today. up next, the discussion on suicide prevention and current research looking at-risk factors. and later, christopher hill will join us to talk about the iraq parliament elections that are underway today. we'll be right back. >> we're at golden spike national historic site and i'm walking you where the trance

continental railroad was completed. this spot right here marked by the tie is within inches of where the original ceremony was held on may 10, 1869. the post you see right next to it, it was actually placed when they resurveyed the exact location as they were establishing the site and getting ready to set things up. and so that is marking pretty much the exact location within inches of where that original ceremony was held. this is a replica. it would have been lost in the 1906 san francisco earthquake and fire. all of the items that were brought out for the ceremony would have been brought by the central pacific out of california. included on this tie is a plaque that lists many of the dignitaries from that company,

the central pacific in particular. and the big four recall marked there. when that trance continental railroad was completed, it made a major impact in the industrial development of this nation and allowed it to grow not only in its economy, in its ability to build within the nation, but also to become more impactful throughout the world. at the end of the civil war was a huge boom in helping to rebuild the country and once they were able to settle the other areas, the united states was able to become a world power. >> this weekend, book tv and american history tv take a look at the lives of ogden, utah. >> "washington journal"

continues. host: and we now turn to the topic of suicide prevex and we're joined -- prevention and we're joined by a pair of experts in this area. john madigan and is vice president for public policy of the american foundation for suicide prevention. thank you for joining us today. we want to began on the increasing role that suicide attempt survivors are applying in trying to prevent further suicide. it talked about craig miller who was a victim of sexual molestation. it talks about his experience and says he's part of an emerging and vocal movement of suicide attempt survivors who are stepping out of the shadows and speaking out about their experiences. survivors will hope it will break down the silence of

suicide and let them see that they are not alone. -- why is this seen as an emerging place for health and suicide revention? guest: well, we were founded primarily by people like me. i'm a survivor of survivor loss. lost my sister 19 years ago. but as the article says, more and more people are now coming forward with stories of their suicide attempts and it's a beautiful segue into why the congressional spouses for suicide prevention and education are all about breaking the stigma, about bringing the conversation to the communities of families talking about suicide. it's the same thing as if you have a heart problem.

no one wouldn't say don't get your heart fixed john. but it's the last stigma in the closet, i would say. caller: i agree. guest: it's very important to talk about this. they have numbers that people should reach out to. maybe on the ticker right now, but 1-800-273-talk so people know that there's something there to answer their call when they're feeling this is the type of isolation. and 90% of those who do take their lives are suffering of some form of mental health issue. so i think it's very important that we talk about it and normalize treatments. mental health treatments, so people know that. host: and we'll have that number on our screen throughout our segment as we talk about suicide prevention. but on the issues of suicide teams survivors being involved in the "boston globe" story,

there is a way for survivors to come out and talk about this or this something that you have to let survivors sort of come to on their own? guest: well, i think john, you should speak to that better what they're trying to do. because i know current what they do in school systems from what i'm aware of, they will have family members come and talk to students high school level, and as young as seventh and eighth graders about suicide prevention and something someone who is a survived the loss of another family member talking about it really helps for them to work through their struggles and know that they can reach out and to others. i know that the american foundation for suicide prevention has been looking for this and possibly having people come who have been through it.

so it gives other people hope. guest: when i started with the group five years ago, it was primarily survivors of suicide loss. now, it's 60% of people who have survived their own suicide attempt, by them becoming involved in groups like the american foundation of suicide prevention, they come into a group with people having similar experiences and that starts the conversation. we're looking at a range of program being developed to help people but just getting into the same group of people that share your experience is the first job step. host: and the stat, the centers for disease control lists suicide as the 10th leading cause of death. in 2010, there are 38,364 suicides in the united states according to a 2012 c.d.c. report, more than one million dulls attempt suicide each year - forte

-- guest: thank you to you and to c-span and for "washington journal" for hosting a show like this. this is how. people need to know that there are resources out there. and the opportunities that people give us to either do op-ed pieces or to be on the radio or on televisioning so people know it's out there. and people are struggling and people are at-risk. and people know what the signs are. all this education, awareness, understanding makes people know that they're not aalone. o this type of effort. i co-chair with the spouses group. >> congressional spouses. >> yes. and i was approached by the american foundation for suicide prevention to be part of a group

and then i find out that there was not a group but they wanted to start a group. so with my background, i was drawn to want to help and i've come across these wonderful women who i co-chair with that are two spouses from the house side and two houses from the senate side. and we come together to begin this dialogue. the group has now grown and we have more spouses who have stepped on. we have now over 70 spouses since 2012. and what we basically do is have forums in d.c. when the spouses are in town and learn more about certain areas and issues and then go back to our communities and connect into the communities. resource people. so it's a group that is growing and there are many people that want to be a part of the cause and it can be as minimally or as involved as you want it to be.

so you do newsletters if people want to attend the meetings. we will send videos of what the meeting was about. host: this week when congress is back in session in d.c.? guest: we're having a meeting shortly after this interview and we'll be having a discussion on suicide prevention in school systems and efforts to help in e schools both the teachers, educating the teachers on signs and awareness, programs that are within the school programs and talking about that, as well as programs that are education for the students themselves. guest: what i like to add is the spouse group is all about public education and outreach. it's not about public policy. the model school district that we're going to be talking about this morning is something that schools look at voluntarily. it's not going to require a

governor or a mayor to sign a bill into law. i want to talk about the top of what mary jo is talking about. wyoming's leading the country in suicides. alaska is number two in suicides in the country. smitty connolly from fairfax, virginia. leanne johnson from ohio. there's a range of spouses going back to their community because they're unique -- they need get a keepers. it's all about -- gate keepers. it's all about starting a conversation. it's a big part of people reaching out. host: and we want to bring our viewers into that conversation as we talk with mary jo gibson and john madigan. republicans can call in this morning in this segment, republicans and democrats and independents. if you're outside the u.s., it's

202-585-3883. we have the number for the national suicide prevention hotline that we'll show throughout this segment. a question for you, john, on the hotline from twitter. one of our -- somebody tweets in suicide prevention hotline doesn't work. >> it does. it does. they have hundreds of thousands of phone calls a year. it's coordinated out of new york city. the samsa provides the funding for it but it's supported by hundreds of smaller suicide prevention hotline locally. in some states, john, they're now going to texting. it's pretty early in that kind of technology, but kids, when you look at the statistics, 10-year-olds are now taking their lives. 12-year-olds taking their lives. they may be more comfortable texting. so it's a very important part of the process but that's only one step reaching out to tell

someone i need help than getting to the doctor to get the kind of help you need. host: we have a question on twitter. mary jo, i would like to know how much social media influence has in suicides. guest: a very good question. and i'm not familiar on that particular area, but i believe that as much as we seem connected from the media, we're isolated and i have great concern for that. but i think we can pass out numbers and that's what's put on the media places to go and resources that have helped them to get through, that would benefit greatly. and if i can also go back to 1-800 number he that's a national hotline. it's important to know if one presses one, they get a veteran on line. so it's solely for a veteran for pressing number one. so it's a general number but

it's a veteran that presses number one, they'll get that number. also thrrgs a veteran crisis line that they can go on line and also have interactive assessment of where they are. host: and it is a topic that you've host: veterans issues, your husband out of new york, a veteran himself, correct? guest: yes, it is. and it is near and dear to us. there's a lot of progress that's been done but not always a lot of talk about it. it's important to talk about how much efforts are being put into suicide prevention within the military and there's an effort of the army ready resiliency campaign that the vice chief of the army has been talking about, general campbell, which works on focusing on the soldier and the family and healthy wellness and programs on the leadership,

identifying signs and being aware of signs of suicide in soldiers and providing them resources as well as peer to peer and identify helping your buddy, male, female, they're working together. guest: john, i have good news despite the gridlock, suicide prevention for service members and their family is a nonpartisan issue. we have republicans like chris gibson, democrats like mark begic want to help people and we can help people on it and use that as a way to articulate to the american public we all got to talk together about other issues we may disagree on. host: some of the latest numbers from the annual suicide prevention report, during the 2012 calendar year the report stated 319 active duty service members, 73 members and 841

service members tried to commit suicide one or more times, that according to a release from the american legion. let's go to the phones. jed has been waiting from pickney, michigan. you're on with john mad began and mary j -- john madigan and mary jo gibson. >> i wonder how you screen the calls for the hotline because it seems impossible for me to be able to verify whether there's an actual threat or not. caller: for example, it's impossible for screeners to evaluate whether there are -- f h5n1, f--- host: i apologize for that call coming in. good morning, you're on with jo magigan and mary

gibson. caller: i think your efforts are quite valiant, but i think, however, the resources that can be immediately available are simply not there, and you can call 911 and get the fire out really quickly or can get the police out rather quickly but you can't a team, more likely two very to respond who have good training in dealing with people who are in crisis and not s of their age go in with their guns drawn and

if they do have some police that needs assistance, those police will need to be not on the inside of the house but in a stand by mode and understand that their job is not to shoot hat person but to find a way to intervene immediately. host: maybe you can jump in on that. guest: david from pennsylvania? you raise a very good point. i have good news, it will take time but this year the congress appropriated $15 million for mental health first aid and i think it goes directly to what you're talking about, training first responders to give them the skills and the know with all to understand how to deal with the situation like that. the other good news that congress just passed a

monumental bill, mental health excellence act, $900 million, john, for direct services for people in their communities. again, one of your earlier questions, how do people get help. parents need to talk to pediatricians and people like you and i need to talk to our primary care docs and you want to talk to your minister, there's a range of people you can talk to to get the conversation going and figure out what's the best plan for you. host: you gave us the funding numbers. how has it changed in the time of funding cuts in recent years and is it a scenario that's seen cuts? >> it has seen cuts at the state and local level and i think the last couple years it's been a collective decision in washington and state capitals that more money needs to be put back in mental health services, absolutely. host: let's go to jeff waiting on our line for independents. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. you're on with john madigan and

mary jo gibson. >> pleased they brought up the veterans because that was one area in which has been neglected so long until the backlog is so great until we have lost quite a number of veterans and still continue to lose them. i'm not saying they're not doing anything. it is getting better but in the military normally what we deal with is ptsd in which no one and just like the military has to do, the civilian population has to do it, you must first take the stigma off mental illness. if you don't remove the stigma and that person feels like they're half human, if they admit that hey, i need help

you're going to lose them altogether. host: marry major gibson, you have ost: mary jo gibson, you are close to this topic. caller: thank you for your service. and you're right, it's very important for the resources and for the v.a. has done a lot of work and effort in improving many of their programs. they have a woman's clinic now. clinic for if-oef soldiers when they return. they have several, several new areas that they work in, even helping the family members when they're also managing the health care of a survivor -- it's a program that supports the family members. and i want to say, too, that i've been involved with nafw,

national association of social workers, and in new york they worked on having conferences that train clinicians how to work with veterans. and let's say military service members because not everyone thinks of themselves as a veteran but anyone who served is a veteran and they focus on in these conferences ptsd. they focus on understanding the culture and the different services which is very important to understand the acronyms and where that service member has been so that they can help them to reintegrate into the community and find their purpose and go forward and live a healthy and happy life but i think it's very important, what you said, we need the resources and we need people to understand how to work with veterans so thank you very much. host: if a loved one is concerned about a veteran or somebody, a military service

person, concerned about suicide possibly, what are some warning signs that they should be ? oking for, looking out for guest: very different signs. i want to say related to veterans, certainly talking about it is important but someone not talking about it is important as well. and you have to -- as in the military, i'm going to speak to that now and maybe let john talk more about expanding on the signs but as it relates to the military, when my husband has a purple heart luncheon, and award going to those who suffered in combat and different wounds, he would talk about the wounds you see and the wounds you don't see. and i think to know that the leadership is aware, it's not necessarily the wounds you're aware of, and you need to reach out. you need to reach out to a buddy. you need to reach out to your family. you need to reach out to resources.

there's military one source and there's programs that are available within the military. they have amazing programs. but people need to know where they are and reach out to them. the more that leadership talks about it, the more they will -- if you want to continue -- guest: i think the simple answer is any dramatic change in someone's outlook in life, if someone is outgoing all of a sudden and becomes withdrawn or someone who never drank before is drinking heavily, they're isolating themselves. lots of people who kill themselves talk about it. so don't take someone saying, "i'm thinking of killing myself" lightly. those are all of some of the broad things that people see and hear but some people just don't know how to react. host: if somebody isn't talking about it, can asking about suicide -- guest: very important. host: what about the idea of planting suicide in someone's mind?

guest: we talk about asking someone if they're going to kill themselves does not cause somebody to do that. it's really important. guest: and talking about it, they often reach out to a family person and say something is going on and they may not. they may not have a clinician they're working with. i have to say, if someone is working with the clinician and they're not feeling they're making progress, that they need to then speak to someone else. they need to know that they can go to another person, that they're the consumer. and they need to find someone who they feel they can connect with, so signs, also, of getting their affairs in order. if they're saying, i'm going to take my life" they need to be connected immediately, 911, a 1-800 call but they need to go to a doctor, a psychiatrist, someone immediately to do a comprehensive evaluation. you want to stay with that person who is saying these things and are at risk and resource them. guest: three years ago a

boyhood friend of mine told me to my face he was going to kill himself. i stayed with him. we called 911 and they came and took an evaluation and he went to the hospital. it's a tough thing to do. but if someone was having a heart attack you wouldn't walk away but call the ambulance and get people involved. it's something people can do. again, the bottom line of this whole conversation this morning is why we're here, to talk about it, figure out what's the best plan for your loved one. host: let's get more questions from viewers. greg is waiting from clayton, georgia, on the line for republicans. good morning. caller: good morning. my father committed suicide. he went to a psychiatrist up in new york and he was told all the wrong things, you know, you're getting old, your health is not that good, you're broke, you're divorced, and you know, he's loaded up with medication, he killed himself. the v.a. does the same thing, they hand out a book they handed out to me, and it just

basically tells you that the problem is medical, you need drugs, and -- excuse me. that's the only way to fix it. the problem is depression, of course, then anger, then resentment, then depression and it's a spiritual problem. all these drugs and medication is only making it worse. so i think -- all i've heard since i watched this is blah, blah, blah, blah, nothing about what the problem is. host: john madigan, you want to address that? guest: sure, greg. i would argue the issue of suicide is so challenging that there's no one answer for anybody. for some people it's counseling, for other people it's a combination of medications and counseling. other people find solace in reaching out to their minister or priest. again, i'm sorry for your loss. like i said, i lost my sister. she was suffering a bipolar

illness for nearly 25 years and my family was as shocked as anybody else when nancy completed her suicide. if it was an easy answer, we may not be here. but i think again, we have to talk about it and we would encourage our listeners to reach out. if you go to www.afsp.org you can find your local chapter. there are resources, people that can get you to the people that can give you help. and again, we urge people to do that. guest: and clayton, also, i'm truly sorry for what your family has been through, and i think it's important to, again, the combination sometimes of cognitive behavioral therapy and medication, and as you said, spirtuality. and everyone has different avenues for healing and then for themselves, and sometimes the medication isn't right and that's why i was saying you need to not -- if you can't stop, you need to find someone else who is struggling or at risk at this time and they're

not feeling they're getting the help they need, they need to go somewhere else because where there's help, there's hope. i really encourage people to seek that help. host: we're talking with mary jo gibson, co-chair of the congressional spouses for suicide prevention and education and john madigan of the american foundation for suicide prevention, he's the vice president of public policy there. we're talking about this issue for the next 15 minutes or so on "the washington journal" this morning and go to bill waiting in marietta, georgia, on the line for democrats. bill, good morning. >> good morning, folks. my heart is really heartbroken that you're having this program on this morning when two days ago it would have been appropriate because a young man killed himself yesterday after shooting people at a fedex facility here in the marietta area. he did it for not getting a requested vacation day, a 19-year-old young man.

ms. gibson, you should be working with the n.r.a. it's true his friends reached out to them and he told them he wanted to do something but no one reacted. and anyone who served is a vet. we should have mandatory military service after high school in this country. that young man's death is a travesty on this country. thank you. host: bill in marietta, georgia. mary jo gibson, you want to respond? >> it is truly -- i want to say how sorry i am to those families and we should pray for those families. guest: what i would say is guns are used in more than half of the completed suicides in this country. the american foundation for suicide prevention is working on a couple pilot programs where we're meeting with gun shop owners and gun owners and we're educating gun-owning families about what they should do if a family member is

diagnosed with depression or a bipolar illness and give them options and things to do voluntarily. the minute you mention the word "gun control" you lose half the people that need to be in the conversation and that's not where we have to go. >> your organization has several different charts to talk about different aspects of suicide rates and here's one on suicide deaths by method. you showing firearms being used in over half the suicide deaths in 2010. smiley has a question for you on twitter on this subject and says, is the suicide rate going up because of easy access to guns? guest: no. i wouldn't say that. i think more women attempt suicide, and more men complete suicide. when you add things like guns, to alcohol and substance use disorder that greatly increases someone's likelihood of completing suicide. again, there's no one reason

that people complete suicide. there are different means to achieve it. people going to their garage and turn on their car and die by carbon monoxide, they hang themselves. there's a wide variety. again, the bottom line is we've got to get people to get in to get help. host: mark is waiting in little rock, arkansas, on our line for independents. good morning, you're on with john madigan and marry -- and marry jo gibson. caller: can you hear me? host: yeah, go ahead. caller: i can't afford -- i was bipolar years ago and went into a manic and was stressed out because i was losing my job and also manic and everybody knew it and just dropped me off at the house and i ended up trying to commit suicide. the only reason i didn't shoot myself is because my shotgun was so long i couldn't figure out how to do it and i snapped out of it and called 911. nobody is going to call 911 if they're going to commit suicide. that's not going to happen.

i've been to many programs and many are on medicaid and i can't afford to buy my bipolar medicine if i could because it's $300 a bottle and i have no insurance. what do you do about that? guest: again, it's a tough thing. we do know people do call 911. it depends where they are, what time of the day. but again, part of the reason we're having this conversation this morning is to let the people know there are lots of resources out there. and again, part of the congressional spouses for suicide prevention is to educate people about what the resources are in new york, alaska, wyoming, virginia. host: are there resources to help people afford medications they might need if they are in the situation that mark says? guest: more and more pharmaceuticals are now saying yes, you can get help through different programs. i think with the affordable care act coming onboard, again, we'd urge people to check with their local state exchanges to figure out what programs are there.

host: mary jo gibson, pegosha has a question on veteran issues. she asks, do vets working with other vets have better results? guest: it's very effective. it's very important to have the peer-to-peer program combined with maybe individual therapy -- there's different means for healing and so i would say the peer-to-peer programs are remarkable. and it doesn't necessarily have to be those that have been in the same combat situation. you can have someone who has been in afghanistan and someone who has been in the vietnam war and working together in peer-to-peer programs in, say, drug addiction and recovery areas. it's powerful. guest: i would add, mary jo

mentioned call 1-800-273-talk number and if you're a veteran or service member, you press one. that's staffed by veterans and people who are -- who know what it's like to be in the service, it's really critical we provide those services. host: let's go to ohio. rick is waiting on our line for republicans. rick, good morning. caller: good morning. i'd like to thank you both for the help you give veterans and other people, too. but i'm a disabled veteran and have bipolar and had it a long time and also ptsd. and i was in the navy in the 1980's and wasn't in war combat, per se, but when i went to -- i go to west virginia to the v.a. hospital there. when i went and got tested for ptsd, they confirmed that i had it, but cleveland, the regional office, said i didn't have it so they wouldn't give me medication for it and i found out later i had bipolar and i think i have both. but what i wanted to talk about

is when people have these terrible things -- crisis in their life they have to deal with, a lot of times they don't know how to deal with it and don't have the proper tools to deal with it, even myself, something happened to me in boot camp. i was beat up by my company commanders and i internalized everything and didn't tell anybody for a long time and so later when i was still in the service, it caused me a lot of problems. but i tell you, some medicine does help. medicine does help people. you can't just do it all through your own mental or just through talk. you have to have medication, too, because i had some for anxiety. i was put in the hospital and they had medicine for anxiety and took me a long time. i'll still only 60% of what i was before but -- host: john madigan? guest: rick, again, thanks for your service. i wouldn't give up and am glad you called us. i would reach back out to your

veterans hospital and if you're not getting the help you need, reach out to your local hospital. reach out. we have folks in west virginia and again, we'll try to get you resources and get you in with the right people to get you the right combination of counseling and medication. guest: i'm sorry, and also to add to that, in your area, the veteran officers, related to resourcing, just getting the appropriate services and knowing what your benefits are. i think it's important to reach out to the veterans officers that are in your state and in -- and members of congress, you can reach out to them as well because a large percentage of cases that are seen by congress members, they tried to help getting their benefits. so i think all these things, you're talking resourcing, both mental health, concrete, just like to be able to daily living but your benefits, what you deserve for the different

issues that you've faced, that your benefits you should be getting needs to be looked into. i think people need to know there is this -- every states that a veterans program and there's veterans officers and county level as well. so please continue to carry on well in life and thank you again so much for your service. host: bill on twitter has a question about suicide among college students, and he's asking for any stats you have on suicide ratios by able. a chart from your website on suicide rate by age, it doesn't have it specifically for college students but the red line here, the one at the very bottom, is the rate for 15-24-year-olds, it's just over 10 per 100,000, 10 suicides per 100,000. if you want to talk a little bit about the breakdown by age. guest: sure.

bill, thanks for your question. the latest statistics, if you go to our website, you can find it. unfortunately, suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death in this country, the second leading cause of death for ages 10-34, and the eighth leading cause of death for ages 45-64. and i think if i had to count the largest groups out there are veterans and service members, native americans, and young people. those are the three main groups, and unfortunately, white men like me over 50, there's been a big increase in suicides and some talk about the economy and people not getting jobs. but it's a combination of things and i think the more information we have, the policymakers can make decisions on where to put scares resources. host: let's go to the caller from florida on the line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. host: go ahead, liz. caller: i'm live now?

host: yes, ma'am. caller: i don't hear myself live watching the tv. host: just go ahead and talk. you're on with mary jo gibson and john madigan. >> i had a radiologist and he went in and damaged both my kidneys and i tried to get some help and they rallied around him and kept him from being able to come to justice for what he did, and i'm the one still suffering even now as i speak, i'm suffering from what he did to me and at one time i wanted to commit suicide but any time in my state, in my city, if you say anything about committing suicide, they come and assist you in helping you get better, they come and lock you away like an animal. you can't even mention anything about suicide, period, because they treat you like animals here. host: john madigan, that was liz. guest: what i urge you to do is reach out to the american foundation for suicide prevention and we can find the

local resources for you. i'll give you my office number in d.c., 2o 2-449-3600, my extension, 103. give me a call. and let me follow up with you. host: and the website is afsp.org, folks who want to follow it on twitter, @afspnational as well, talking with mary jo gibson, co-chair of congressional spouses for suicide and joe madigan, co-chair for suicide prevention. we want to get in as many calls as we can. scott is waiting on our line for independents. good morning. caller: good morning. just recently my wife lost her job, she was terminated, the company was deciding to only hire and keep those under the age of 26 that are staying on their parents' health care plan. she had gone back to college and gotten re-educated and started with this company and then got terminated under those

circumstances. she became very depressed, first time in her life. she had a plan, luckily i got her to a good hospital, and yes, the hospital did kind of treat her like an animal, like the last caller did say but it saved her life. now she is on medication and she is seeing counselors on a regular basis, and she's better. but she still feels worthless. she's put out hundred of resumes, can't find a job, and as of december, she was cut off unemployment benefits, which is what led to her feelings of worthlessness. as we couldn't pay our bills anymore, we were falling behind, and she thought it was all her fault to getting fired. and i didn't know it at first, but once i heard that there was a plan, she actually already had a counselor, the counselor

informed me that she had a plan, and i got her to the hospital and thank the lord she's alive today. but if you get on twitter and you go to #renewui, you will hear story after story of unemployed people who had their benefits cut off when are committing suicide on a daily basis. host: thanks for sharing the story from your family. i'll let mary jo gibson respond to you. guest: yeah, well, i'm glad to hear she was able to get resources and i'm sorry they weren't optimal at that time for her but she's continuing to get treatment, scott, and that you're a wonderful spouse to be there for her, it's so important that she has that support from you, and i think it is a very difficult thing you see with financial and relationship issues is often where people are struggling, in addition to what you're seeing,

she's trying to find her purpose and getting to be employed. i really hope that that comes to her soon. but to continue to seek the comr soon. to continue to seek the treatment she needs to cope with this stressful time. it is about coping and knowing you can get through this time. to manage the skills and the resiliency to get through this. and that the future will come her way. that is my hope for her. gibson, cochair of congressional spouses for suicide education. along with john madigan of the american foundation for suicide prevention, afsp. 1-800-273-talk (8255). thank you for coming on to talk. we will be joined next by christopher hill, former u.s. ambassador to iraq, to discuss the elections under way in that country today. look at antake a

article from "scientific american" on the safety of electronic cigarettes. first come a news update. >> it is a: 30 a.m. eastern. retired supreme court justice john paul stevens testifies today at a senate hearing on campaign finance rules, which have been used. at issue are the millions of dollars that influence elections. under the existing rules, individuals and corporations can write unlimited checks and independent political -- to independent political committees, while other groups can accept cash without disclosing the donor's identity for months or years, if ever. watch the hearing live at 10:00 a.m. eastern on our website, c-span.org. news, turningal to ukraine. the acting president says there is no way to stop the unrest in two eastern regions bordering russia. he says police and security pless," and are

in some cases cooperating with pro-russian government who have seized buildings and taking people hostage. vice president joe biden reassure the prime minister of ofvia that in the face russian assertiveness in ukraine the united states is committed to the collective defense of nato allies. mr. biden met with latvian prime minister at the white house yesterday and today the vice president speaks at the atlantic council on the situation in ukraine. here the remarks later today on c-span radio. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. everybody says how do you think these women came from such a very low part of the world? so victorian era is stratified. there was the very rich and the middle class and then the real robber baron achievers. the life and times of these women is the most buccaneer time

you can think of. after the civil war. finances were becoming major, yet rockefeller, jim fest, all of the robber barons were making a lot of money. i think it was easy for them because they have been running around with low rent con artists. now let's go with the big boys. they were beautiful and they were tough, and they were driven. they were driven both for power and individualism. they could have been cornerstones, they could have anor, theyin a fine m were pushing for their independence and women's independence. they became these fiery feminists unlike anybody on the scene. argues that toon victorian sisters changed the course of women's rights and

american history. sunday night at 8:00 on q&a. " continues.journal are heading iraqis to their first parliamentary election since the department of u.s. troops in 2011. the politicals situation in iraq is former u.s. ambassador to arrive, christopher hill. toassador hill, bring us up speed on the political stakes and what it means for iraqi prime minister nouri al-maliki. guest: obviously the stakes are huge here. first, just organizing the election has been quite an effort. the iraqis have had the help of un officeffice -- the of the american and other embassies. it is different when you do not have 50,000 american troops on the ground, which was the case in the last election. this will really be a test to the iraqi security forces and certainly since the last few

years especially, since the outbreak of violence in syria, there has been a spillover of that violence into iraq. there is a lot of disquiet about prime minister malki. the security environment has been very tough in the run-up to the elections. one of the big questions will be whether the sunnis, who live in some of these parts of anbar province, under al qaeda control, are going to be able to vote. they have worked out arrangements for some of the displaced people to vote. overall, it is going to be a challenge. alas, you have got some of the old politicians running. some of the same party structures. a change, we will have to see whether they get it. host: who are the candidates to be watching? you talk about prime minister nouri al-maliki, who are his r ivals? guest: certainly nouri al-maliki is the front runner.

it is not that anyone is a huge fan of his but he -- you cannot something with nothing. when you look at the other candidates, there are not a lot of new and dynamic politicians coming to the fore. there is some other shia parties. it would be the hope among the sunnis that the shia parties would be hopelessly split. iski party, there ists,so the saatar the ayatollah solder is not a candidate. you have three formations of shia parties and the next prime minister will come out of those. maliki is probably feeling

confident he can beat challenges. how the lack of a u.s. president in iraq has changed the dynamic on the ground. here's a wrapup from the washington times on the security situation. is experiencing its worst bloodshed since the height of sectarian conflict from 2006 to 2008. 7818 civilians were killed in attacks across iraq in 2013. guest: i think the security situation is very tough. a lot of people lay this at the .oorstep of nouri al-maliki after all, there are increasing indications that there is no such thing as an independent judiciary and iraq. much under hisry bomb. he has exerted some direct control over the security services. a lot of the checks and balances

we envisioned in the iraqi constitution do not seem to be working on the ground. in the meantime, there has been this insurgency in the western part of iraq, especially in anbar province. the insurgency consists of extremist al qaeda elements who sectarianf the sunni side. they have really targeted she ia. whether they are pilgrims or whatever. and you see attacks on the maliki government, including the security forces. maliki has tried to send his nbar province. there is a tough situation whose overall effect will be to

compress or reduce the amount of sunni voting. in a kind of machiavellian way, that is exactly what maliki weloint to see an election. --will come out with more with the lead through the first round. what is important to understand and iraqi politics is you have a parliament that is 325 seats. you need 168 members of parliament. in the elections, you will see it split wide open. maybe the leader, let's say it is maliki, mike at between 60 and 100 votes. then he will have to go and cajole others. that is what he did effectively in 2010. bring people into his office, cajole them and threaten them. he will try to get to that majority of 325. >> here is michael stevens from

al jazeera. "iraq elections unlikely to bridge divide." marriott maliki accused of marginalizing sunni and kurdish voices. is therebassador hill, a best outcome for the united states here? what is the united states looking for out of the selection? outcome think a best would be a free and fair election. that is peaceful with a clear path for the formation of the next government. back in 2010, it took them about my months to form a government. for this election, it might even take longer. some kind of clear path towards an election. i think it would be helpful that whoever wins, that winner will come out of a shia political formation. if the winner can reach out to

the sunni community, i am less concerned about the kurdish community. butki is not popular there he has worked there in the past. but the problem is the great sectarian divide. arab world, just about every single area country, is sunni-run. they contain their enthusiasm for mr. maliki. if he ever had charisma, it cleared up a long time ago. he is not a very nice guy to deal with or a particularly open guy or a guy who is interested in reaching over to their community. he is kind of in his tough guy approach to the sunnis, he is impounding the -- he has compounded the insurgency problem. which is a spillover from the situation in syria. host: we will bring viewers and for questions or comments for

former ambassador hill. republicans can call (202) 585-3881, democrats (202) 585-3880, independents, (202) 585-3882. if you are outside the u.s., (202) 585-5883. we want to bring into this the newtion tim arango, york times baghdad bureau chief on the ground as the elections are going on. tell us about the situation on the ground. either security concerns taking place in baghdad? ahead of the election there were extraordinary security concerns and an extraordinary security effort. 3:45 here, two hours 50 minutes to go. the story of the day is that it has been so peaceful. there has not been a single attack in baghdad. there have been smaller incidents up north. all in all it is so far, knock on wood, pretty incredible as

far as security goes. host: how would you describe the mood of those going out to vote a mix.r guest: it is there are people who demonstrate extraordinary bravery. we spoke to a guy who wheeled his wheelchair to the polling center. he was paralyzed by a car bombing five years ago but he was excited to vote because he wanted to give his kids a better future. you see people who are very angry about this government has brought. what the it is unclear turnout is. that will be important to note, to see how many people did stay home. some of the early members suggest -- some of the early numbers suggest turnout might be low compared to the last election. host: does a low turnout mean anything for nouri al-maliki as he looks to hold onto power? guest: potentially not.

sunnis, forat example, that is going to be quite low. it is unclear what the turnout could mean for maliki, we cannot predict it. host: ambassador hill, we are talking with tim arango of the new york times. do you have any questions for tim arango this morning? all, it ist of almost miraculous that it has been so quiet today. that has not been the case in the runup to this election. i guess i would like to know whether maliki has quieted down his relationship with the kurds. he has a terrible relationship with the sunni community. is he going to be able to attract the kurds to a broader is theon assuming maliki one who will have the most parliamentary seats after the election. host: tim arango, your thoughts?

guest: i am used to asking you questions. the green zone gossip, the political chatter is that the kurdish leader is adamantly opposed to another maliki term. it will be very difficult to get his party on board. will staye the kurds united, but we will see. it will be difficult for barzani to join maliki. of the new york times, thank you for joining us. we will let you back to work as you watch the elections. chris hill is here to take your questions and comments. joe in maryland on our line for republicans. caller: good morning. two quick questions.

the first one is, as we are pulling out our troops in iraq, the obama administration failed to negotiate a status of forces agreement. that necessitated taking most of the troops out. it is the first time in a long time we did not get a status of forces agreement. i would like to get your guest's views on that. number two, i have not seen this in the mainstream media but in other sources there are reports that there is a letter circulating -- an e-mail circulating in the white house the night before susan rice's interview on meet the press that shows that the white house, not other agencies, was imminently having susan rice make the point that the events in benghazi were motivated by the youtube video. i think this is a new fact. i follow benghazi quite a bit.

it is quite interesting and damning to the obama administration. on that read a story earlier today, a lead story in usa today, we are focusing on iraq and the elections going on today. ambassador hill, your thoughts on some of the question joe brings up? thet: first of all, on issue of a status of forces agreement that is an agreement that would have allowed u.s. troops to remain. these were negotiations that were conducted in the fall of 2010. this was after my watch. i can certainly stay to the fact that when i talk to individual iraqi politicians, whether allawi, allaliki or of them were in favor of having some residual presence of u.s. troops. yet it seems that when they

would sit down in their area allawi andespecially maliki, that enthusiasm seems to be somewhat less. able to get that guarantees we require when we station troops. we cannot leave our troops up to iraqicissitudes of the judicial system. they have to have community structure -- they have to have community structure -- immunity structure. we need those immunities. after several years of u.s. iraqition, no politician was willing to stand up and say ok, i support these troops on for foreign our soil. ultimately it did not happen. there are those who say the obama administration did not

want any residual forces there. i am not sure that is true. certainly the obama administration was not enthusiastic about a large presence. i think there was a consensus that some kind of presence would be desirable. i think itppened and is because there was no iraqi politician who stood up there and said we need them here. they would tell us privately they wanted them. when i came to standing up publicly they were not willing to do that. as for benghazi, i guess this issue will go on and on. it was a veryhink tough situation. an ambassador goes to a place order to spendn three nights there and i think there was all kinds of questions about security. i am not going to add or subtract to the discussion of that issue. host: you had an opinion piece

entitled " syria's war in iraq," you talk about what is happening in the anbar province. the nelson writes in on twitter. when will iraq divided into thirds as it should? tost: it is not so easy divide into thirds. i worked on the bosnian negotiations. that was quite a fraud situation. 100% sunnintity is or shia. with a rather unpleasant transfers of populations. clearly the better outcome is for iraq to hold together. has put asituation strain on that. i guess the issue is if you start talking about syria, people will say what about maliki? isn't he part of the problem?

if you start talking about maliki, people say isn't syria part of the problem? they are both part of the problem. that kind of unmitigated and endless situation in syria has opened up the specter of a sunnistan that would be created in the anbar region. this is not good for the territorial integrity of iraq and i think it would be a challenge to any later. people wouldwho perceive as being a lot better than maliki. host: talking with former u.s. ambassador to iraq christopher hill. served as ambassador from april 2009 to august 2010. now serves as the dean of the school of international studies at the university of denver. here to answer your questions. republicans can call at (202) 585-3881. democrats, (202) 585-3880. independents, (202) 585-3882.

if you are outside the u.s., (202) 585-5883. john from outside the u.s. in the bahamas. independent. caller: good morning. good morning, mr. hill. i have got a question. i did time in kuwait. hunt'sarried to al sister. i went to kuwait and i bought a weighty dollars -- i bought kuwaiti dollars. everyone said i was crazy, they are emptying all the banks and flying all the gold out. andught kuwaiti dollars made a fortune. i bought iraqi dollars in 2004,

billion andtood $4 had a company print 70 trillion iraqi dollars. home in georgia and i read it to a captain, i cannot tell you his name. host: do you have a question for ambassador hill? caller: when is a rack' -- when is iraq's dollar going to go to anything other than one thousandth of a penny to the u.s. dollar? guest: i am not an expert on the exchange rate for iraqi dollars. i suspect it has been heavily affected by this ongoing insurgency. i think if they can bring that to a close, by some kind of and as in syria

political process in iraq and they continue to do what they are doing in terms of exploiting iraqi oil and making sure that the results of that oil are shared among the iraqi people, are used -- i am sure the value of the currency will go up. did mr. twitter, "why hill serve only one year as ambassador?" well, i served -- i told secretary clinton when she asked me to do this -- it came out of the blue. office and me to her i thought she wanted another medal on east asia, where i had been working the previous four years. she asked me to go to iraq. i thought about it overnight and i agree to go for one year. have been april 2010, right in the middle of the government formation period.

i agree to stay on until the end of august. as for security, one time in july in 2009, my motorcade was and it wasy an ied an unpleasant experience, we have lost a lot of people through the ample vice -- through the improvised explosive devices. i had the pleasure of hosting a rocket that landed in my front yard as i was walking outside the door. i had a couple of experiences. you do not really think about them at the time, but afterwards , you kind of wonder what was i doing there? why was i taking that kind of chance? many people had that experience. host: josh in saint peters, missouri, on our line for independents. caller: good morning.

i love c-span. i just wanted to point out to you, i heard a fascinating gross' show terry with dexter from "the new yorker." i guess he was there for four months. -- they got sick -- bush got sick of jeffrey. just thee maliki and -- the vetting process and how we almost have handed iraq to iran through the choice of maliki. know, 4500 american lives, $1 trillion, whether you agree or disagree with the war, we

could have at least made something good of that. we have kind of just let it go with not making a deal with troops there with the status forces agreement and it is just a sad state of affairs i think will stop host: ambassador hill, josh brings up the role of iran. guest: the role of iran is very important. need to understand is when you go into a shia majority country with a sunni government. many should you consider saddam hussein the last sunni. there are a lot of sunnis who had no love for saddam hussein and are embarrassed by the fact that he was a sunni. when you go into a country like that and you have an election and people's identity is either as sunni, shia, or kurd, and

the shia are in the majority, one should not be surprised you end up with a shia leadership. the question has always been is the shia leadership independent of iran or is it controlled by iran? there is no question the iranians try to be actively engaged in a rock. i think the idea that iran orehow controls maliki controls the shia politicians, i think that is kind of over-the-top, mike lee speaking. -- friendly speaking. iran and iraq had a war in the 1980's and that lasted eight years. thats fought with an army was 80% shia. there are no examples of that army turning over to the other side or somehow supporting the iranians, even though the iranians try to say to the shia us and youu are with should not be fighting against us. that army was very loyal to iraq. that 80% shia army was loyal to

saddam hussein. i think it is a bit of an exaggeration to suggest that iraq has been turned over to iran. certainly they have a better relationship now than they did when iraq was under the sunni saddam hussein. it does not mean iran is running iraq. they have a lot of differences to work through. that said, i think people need to understand that when you have an election and win the identity is not small government, the government, or whatever. when the identity is she or sunni and the majority is shia, do not be surprised when you have a shia-let government. an effective sectarian pluralism be achieved in countries where religious sects are still the primary political motivators? guest:. it is kind of a cosmic question. can you have a situation in iraq

where people put aside sectarianism and start voting on the basis of issues? on the basis of who provides better services or lower taxes, things like that. my answer is yes, i think that can happen. the sectarian divide that we talk about so much today, it has not always been there. it has been there but not always kind of overt form. i am sure that at some point this will calm down and people will look at it from the point of view of issues. for now, we have a sectarian situation. it is not a surprise that this happened in the context of these wars. often, wars and we government bring out people's sectarianism. because they feel that if they are more sectarian, they will have some kind of notion of protection rather than being lonely out there working for secular society. i am sure at some point this will manage -- this will

diminish and you will get a more issues-based, secular society. especially with the development iraq's urban- of areas. host: bill in california on our line for democrats full stop thank you for getting up with us on the "washington journal." you there? have stepped away from his phone, we will hold onto that and come back for bill. caller: i am here. host: go ahead, you are on. i want to ask c-span why up thet you got rachel maddow deal? why did we do it? host: you are talking about iraq? caller: is there a reason why our politicians cannot come up

with answers? the public wants to know, why did we enter iraq? will that is a question we give to former ambassador christopher hill. guest: thank you very much. if you go back to 9/11, the fact that our country was very that were by places very far away, it was understandable why our country focused on one of the big problems, the big sources of instability in the region, that was iraq and the behavior of saddam hussein. there also were reports, they turned out not to be accurate. frankly, i do not think they were well evaluated, about the presence of weapons of mass destruction. certainly, saddam at various ofes had had intentions creating a nuclear bomb but clearly he had not gotten very far. also, he was reluctant to say he

had not gone very far because he used that kind of weapons program to threaten his neighbors. on the basis of a lot of things, the united states went in. now, whether we can relitigate that issue going into iraq in 2003, when you live and work in something is not you spent a lot of time worrying about. you worry about how can we leave this a better place? it has been an enormous challenge and very difficult. when you look at a dictator like saddam hussein, it might be better -- rather than ask how do we get rid of him, how did he get there in the first lace? when you start looking at that, you see the complexity. i think we are where we are. we have a very tough customer and maliki to deal with. there are many people that hope someone else can emerge and kind of carried the ball from here and create a new iraq with a more secular, nonsectarian

approach to politics and can get the economy going. there are many iraqis who want that. we have to deal with the situation as it is. for my money, maybe leave the other question historians. "why would iter, be detrimental to u.s. interests if we left iraq to its own devices?" certainly iraq is kind of on its own these days. there is no u.s. troop presence there. is are managing security for their elections and their country. there are a lot of people who felt we left them to their own devices as it is. and in so doing, helped create some of the chaos that has been going on in iraq. i would say we need to understand iraq is a big piece

of real estate between the she'll world and the sunni world, between the arab world and that turkish world. it is an important state in a critical part of the world. we need to continue to be engaged and try to ensure a good outcome. host: regarding some of your experiences on the ground in iraq. isu had close calls in iraq, it ever not worth the risk?" guest: you know, it is funny. when you go through those close calls, you tend to be fired. it is just afterwards you start asking that question. fine. tend to be it is just afterwards you start asking that question. i have children, what am i doing? our there a brave men and women in uniform have given over and

over again. all of us who go to a place like that have that sense of duty. and really this affection and love for our own country and what we are trying to accomplish. that is why you do it. afterwards, you kind of thing should i have been doing that? and you kind of move onto the next issue. host: john in tampa florida on our line for independents. caller: i think we need to re-examine the issue of why we went to iraq. think about it, saddam hussein and osama bin laden hated each other. osama bin laden referred to saddam hussein as an infidel because he had a secular government. a religiousden was neurotic psychopath. this was kept from u.s. people by the controlled media. the truth of the matter is we the into iraq, as proven by scholarly work at the harvard school of government, because of

the israeli lobby and bush catering to them. did not even, bush know about sunnis, shiites, and kurds. that ariel was sharon said job so bush said how high. host: do you want to respond? guest: i do not want to relitigate 2003. i think we did kind of underappreciated the sectarian issue in iraq. was to become more democratic, it certainly became more democratic when we overthrew saddam hussein, there would be elections. those elections, based on political identity, would result in a shia-led government. that is what happened. i am not sure a shia-led iraq was a model for the rest of the sunni arab world. the sunni arab world was troubled by the emergence of shia as a political force as they emerged in iraq.

many countries in the arab world have their shia populations and they do not want their shia to start thinking of themselves as political leaders. this has been the case in bahrain, a shia majority but a sunni led government. i think it has been -- it was an issue that was underappreciated in the time after 9/11 when there was a real focus on weapons of mass destruction and certainly saddam hussein led people to believe that he had these kinds of weapons. certainly, as i sat a few minutes ago, i think the historians will look at this. i think they will look at a lot of factors. we are where we are and we need to try to work on making the middle east a better place. iraq is part of that. host: ambassador hill, can you give us your sense of the iraqi

military today. here's a headline from "the wall street journal." military outmatched on the battlefield. iraqi military was substantially transformed when the american supported the d e-baathification. rid ofs an effort to get saddam hussein supporters and cronies, get those people out of government and out of the military. this kind of cleansing went pretty deep. when the u.s. finally began the task of rebuilding the iraqi military, it was very new. old habits die hard. i think the iraqi military, even today, is a military that prefers having big tanks and howitzers and jet aircraft. i do not think they have quite

embraced some of the tasks of maintaining internal security. they have not quite embraced some of the very difficult counterinsurgency tasks. it is fair to say that the iraqi military does have a difficult time dealing with situations such as the one in anbar today when they are up against these very nasty, ruthless and violent al qaeda elements. that said, i think they are learning. they are learning how to manage this. the reality ofof what they have got to deal with everyday, they are obviously going to make the adjustments. there are questions about if the americans where they are, could we have helped iraqis make those adjustments in how they perceive the battlefield? could we have helped them do that more quickly? i suspect we could. as it is, the iraqi military has to deal with a security situation as it is. i am sure they will step up. host: is there a party in these

parliamentary elections are a leader that could do a better job in your mind of being able to reform the military? hast: certainly maliki focused on loyalty in the military. ifthat part of the world, you have political leadership, it is concerned about the loyalty of the military. i cannot think of a particular politician who has somehow had better ties to the military and could have a greater influence with them in their training regimes and other things. maliki knows them better than others. the issue of people who are so critical of maliki. when the question comes up, if not maliki, who do you support, they often change the subject. they understand that one of the dynamics in iraq, one of the sad truth of iraq is that maliki is a strong leader and there are

not a lot of competition. whether he is pushing down that competition, you can certainly make that point. the fact of the matter is you cannot beat someone with nothing. that has been the issue in politicians with fresh ideas who focus on different things. host: maria in new jersey on our line for independents. you are on with former ambassador christopher hill. i think we lost maria. christopher hill, one other question since we are talking about the military. the story we noted earlier in "the wall street journal." it quotes an iraqi general who barack's losses on the battlefield, more than 1000 in 2013 -- who blames iraq's losses on the battlefield, more than 1000 in 2013, on the u.s.

your take on the u.s. role here and what we can and should be ipplying to iraq? guest: would defer to my colleagues in uniform on the issue of whether or not the patches, which are a kind of ground support platform that can come in very close to the enemy, whether that could have helped the iraqis. i suspect -- it is and extremely capable system. its capabilities are only enhanced when it is surrounded by those forces on the ground and others to understand its capabilities and would use it to good effect. it is not so easy to take some shiny piece of equipment and say

this is going to be the game changer. you have to have people who know how to use it. s suspect the apache i something that has to be embedded in a broader training regime. part of the problem, i do not mean to cast this on the iraqi who said that, part of the problem is the notion that what they need is shiny equipment rather than training and an overall approach to what the threats are on the battlefield. if they need apaches, i suspect they need other things. i'm not convinced that giving them shiny equipment would change the outcome. host: the selections in iraq taking place today. about how long until we know the results of that election? remember whenw, i i was there in 2010, it went on for weeks and weeks. certainly within the first week, you have a good sense of where people were in terms of the

results. we had an iraq national party under allawi that had 91 votes. and maliki's coalition had 89 seats. many americans looked at that and said allawi has won. 325-seat run a parliament with a 91 votes, you have to get up there into the one 60's to get the majority. maliki went to work to raise his in smallerd bring coalitions. allawi was less successful. he was never able to move beyond 89 while maliki moved well beyond. allawi was never able to move beyond. i think what we're going to see

is after a week, you get a sense of what maliki and others have. or's say maliki has 80 or 70 100. he will be inviting people into his office and cutting deals, getting smaller parties to join his coalition. there will be some negotiations. in a real sense, that is where political system will be. the actual election we are witnessing today is just the beginning. host: we will continue to watch it. we appreciate you joining us from denver this morning, former ambassador christopher hill. former ambassador to iraq in 2009 and 2010. spotlight onr magazine series, we focus on the trend of electronic cigarettes and whether they are safe. maron joins us of "scientific american." first, a news update. >> the financial times

economics editor chris giles writes "the u.s. is on the brink of losing its status of the world's largest economy and is likely to slip behind china this year, sooner than widely thecipated, according to world's leading statistical agencies. the u.s. has been the global leader since overtaking the u.k. in 1872. most economists thought china would pull ahead in 2019. the figures are compiled by the world bank." thecommerce department in u.s. reports this hour that the u.s. economy slowed to a 0.1% growth rate in the first quarter. the weakest in a year, reflecting the harsh winter. the sharp slowdown, while worse than expected, is likely to be temporary as growth rebounds with warmer weather. as for jobs, u.s. businesses boosted hiring in april, according to a private survey. a positive sign for the economy. it might improve after a sluggish start to the year.

payroll processor adp says private employers added 220,000 jobs in april, the most since november. in march,9,000 suggesting the government jobs report to be released friday could show a healthy gain. those are some of the latest headlines on c-span radio. book, an's newest collection of interviews with some of the nations top storytellers. trajectory is you have someone who comes from , civilizedated family. they are taken to the camp. all their other relatives are killed. they haveto cave -- to behave in an inhuman way to survive. then they come out and tell their story about a dissent -- a descent into hell.

his story is different, he was born in hell. >> a voice from our book notes and q&a conversations. "sunday at eight," now available at your favorite bookseller. for over 35 years, c-span brings public affairs offends from washington directly to you, putting you in the room at congressional hearings, briefings, and conferences. complete, gavel to gavel coverage of the u.s. house. all as a public service of private industry. c-span, created by the cable tv industry 35 years ago and brought to you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. watch us in hd, like this on facebook, follow us on twitter. "washington journal" continues. host: each week and this segment of the "washington journal," we

put a spotlight on a magazine piece. we welcomed enough i'm erin -- maren ofe dina fine "scientific american," are e-cigarettes safe? no one knows for sure. guest: thank you for having me. that is a complex question. there are several controversies that go back to the heart of it, which is the science or the lack of science about this issue. nicotineertainly that is part of an electronic cigarette, that is addictive. we know there have been incidents of people overdosing on nicotine, which could be a problem. we know what is in them, typically it is three ingredients -- nicotine, a flavoring, and something called propylene glycol. which is a syrupy liquid that is used typically in foods and shampoos to keep a product moist.

the difference here is the same difference that, for example, we know what happens when we eat it. we do not know what happens when we inhale it. host: is that the biggest concern of the components that make up the electronic cigarettes? guest: we do not know about the byproducts. since they have not been regulated there is no quality control. there could be varying levels of nicotine that could cause problems. we are concerned about what they are doing in terms of attracting children. that is something people have been talking about. they are flavored and they have television commercials for electronic cigarettes, which you cannot have for conventional cigarette. some people are losing sleep over that. host: some studies looking at the health impacts. meanwhile, the f da and post -- meanwhile, the fda proposed restrictions on electronic cigarettes. what are the restrictions? guest: these are proposed rules, still subject to public comment

until july. they would provide a restriction so that minors cannot use them. that is something states have already done, over 30 states. this would formalize it. it would make a health warning be required on the side of them. two years after the rule goes into effect. it was say that nicotine is addictive. it would prohibit vending machine sales of these devices and places where children might be. it would make it so you can have no free samples of electronic cigarettes. what is interesting is what is not in the restrictions. public advocates called for two things -- one is that they flavoring. withame way they do conventional cigarettes. flavoring something like watermelon or bubblegum is more attractive to children. and they would block television ads. they did not take action in those areas but they left the

window open that in the future they could propose another rule to take actions in those areas. host: some of those actions were called for by members of congress who released a report, "gateway to addiction, a survey of electronic cigarette manufacturers." the leaders of that were senator richard durbin of illinois and henry waxman of california, tom harkin of iowa and john will ofelop -- john rockefeller west virginia. what has been the reaction on capitol hill since these new restrictions have been announced? guest: the authors of that report and some other democrats have said these restrictions do not go far enough. they are concerned about this issue. the electronic cigarette industry and traditional tobacco companies that have invested millions of dollars in these companies as well, are pretty happy so far with these restrictions. they think they are basically fair and balanced.

but we will still have to see, come july, with the public comment says. host: here's a statement from one of those companies after the proposed restrictions were announced. cigarettes.ronic "we believe that a reasonable regulatory framework is important to help move the industry forward. today's rule is a step closer to achieving that goal. especially since e-cigarettes have become a significant alternative to smoking." he said mystic will continue to the with the fda to ensure highest levels of quality and appropriate marketing of e-cigarettes. we talked about this subject with dina fine maron of "scientific american." we want comments and questions from our viewers. republicans can call at (202) 585-3881. democrats, (202) 585-3880.

independents, (202) 585-3882. we have a special line set up for e-cigarette users. we would like to hear your thoughts on the issues we are talking about. (202) 585-5883. for e-cigarette users. while folks are calling in, dina fine maron, can we talk about the history of e-cigarettes in the united states? guest: you talk about electronic cigarettes dating back to the 1960's. the current iteration of them really came to the u.s. market about seven years ago. they were created by a chinese pharmacist in 2003. they started showing up in the united states, it took time before they really took off. ago, the fda had an earlier effort to try to regulate electronic cigarettes. they block shipments of electronic cigarettes coming into the u.s.

that led to a court case that wound up with an answer saying that the fda did not have the power to regulate electronic cigarettes as a drug delivery device like they would with a nicotine patch. instead, the court ruled they are akin to a conventional cigarette, which you use for user satisfaction. host: dina fine maron of "scientific american" as part of our spotlight on a magazine series. our ongoing series on the "washington journal." mike in san antonio, texas. good morning. caller: howdy. thank you for c-span. i have a simple question -- how do they work? what do you do to make an e-cigarette work? guest: good question, thank you for asking. an electronic cigarette is a battery powered device. it vaporizes a liquid nicotine mist. you inhale it.

it looks and feels like a conventional cigarette but it does not have a cancer-causing tar. you are inhaling a mist of liquid nicotine, not inhaling traditional tobacco tar. on a let's go to brent line for e-cigarette users. from arlington, virginia. good morning, you are on with dina fine maron. caller: hey. so, thank you for having this conversation. i feel like there is a lot of misinformation floating around in regards to propyl glisten ycenol. there has been loads of testing of inhaling the same thing that has been in electronic cigarettes. we have shown that up to the saturation point there are no ill effects. i do not understand why the government is stepping in at this point in time. it seems like it is mainly

because e-cigarettes are not paying the same taxes as regular cigarettes. guest: one is about proper link like all -- probably like all recognized asis safe, a lot of the studies are looking at what is happened when we eat it or things like that. our, it substance, fl is good and a cake but not in your lungs. we do not have that much data. from thecerns stem chemical byproducts. when you heat up this device and things are coming together, perhaps there is something problematic. we do not really have any regulations now. the full do not know ingredient list, something that would go into effect with the proposed fda rule. rules,n this proposed

some reaction from capitol hill, here is dick durbin, who was one of the authors of that report. he said he is disappointed with the fda decision that came out last week prohibiting e-cigarette sales to kids without protecting them from marketing is not enough. members of congress putting out statements on the proposed fda regulations. as those regulations are making their way through the fda, some individual locations have actually imposed their own bands on the cigarette smoking. chicago, a newin role went into place which the city council passed in january. the use of e-cigarettes and restaurants, bars, and public places. the measure requires retailers to sell e-cigarettes from behind the counter so it is harder for minors to get their hands on them. their rahm emanuel pushed the rule on the grounds that

e-cigarettes are "gateway products.: to a chicagoding tribune story. we have a special line set up for e-cigarette users as we talk about e-cigarettes. in indiana onin erin from indiana, good morning. caller: good morning. toive fairly closely northwest indiana, only about 30 miles away. one of the things that happens when you go over there if you are a smoker, you are not allowed to smoke inside. the rule is in place -- it is interesting that there is very little evidence, a lack of we aree, i guess, that hopefully working on to show the effects of these e-cigarette in

public, yet the rules are being put in place without the evidence. that was my comment. i personally use them as an alternative, and there is more evidence that we might not be -- we maybe should be not using them at all. the impact for long-term users such as yourself and community members that might be in a public place, a bar, etc., some is some action that people feel are necessary to safeguard against that. chicago is not the only one. new york city has done so, l.a., san francisco, all adopting a precautionary principle in the absence of sound answers. host: state lawmakers in new york are looking to expand those restrictions outside of just new york city to other cities. here is another city from the "new york post."

albany moves to ban public."tes in from cliff robertson "does thisbinson -- mean technically a company can create new products with nicotine without worrying about fdafda guest:?" ?" thet: for example, under same proposed rule for electronic cigarettes, the fda is also proposing to relate hs ande -- regulate hooka other products that have not the regulated in the past. lease from go to the

maine, and e-cigarette user. yes, i use the e-cigarette. i tried to quit smoking many times. patchesd and i had even . i had everything and i could not quit, and i use the e-cigarette and i have not smoked for two years. how do you feel about the new fda regulations? do you think they are too strong? do you think they are about right? caller: i think they are about right, yeah. children should not be able to get in contact with them, but i think it does a lot of people a lot of good to quit when they could not before. host: on the subject of those regulations, jackie speier, congresswoman jackie speer tweeted out when the fda released the proposal that they

were welcome but long overdue. on their newexpand proposed relations to e-cigarette's, especially in their marketing to children and former smokers. what the caller was talking about, using and e-cigarette to get off the combustion cigarette. guest: the public-health health community is divided on this issue. certainly most of what health issues -- experts contend that the electronic cigarette is more safe than traditional combustible sigrid, considering that -- combustible cigarettes, considering they are responsible for 500,000 deaths per year. people that say when they have tried the patch or gum, it has not worked. there is concern that this might lure people back to conventional cigarettes. there is also concern of what

happens with dual use. host: here is one of those public officials, former surgeon , asked richard carmona about why he serves on the board of one of the electronic cigarette companies. here is what he said. guest: when i was first called by them, i said no way. but then i spoke to some of my colleagues getting on board as well, scientists who do basic sciences -- science research. people who have among them were true decades in the anti-tobacco movement. so i paused and looked into it. the company i joined, their goal is to make tobacco obsolete. i said i like that and i want to join you. the e-cigarette is a misnomer. there is no tobacco. we have already approved it in sprays and gums. this is a cigarette-looking instrument that has nicotine that you breathe in, and it

gives you the satiation from the nicotine. so we think that this is a very strong potential here for harm reduction. that is, people can use this instead of tobacco, and then we can worry about getting them off nicotine. the paper thatt comes out in secondhand smoke echo -- in secondhand smoke? it does not disperse the same way that tobacco does in the early scientific information we have. i believe there is great potential for harm -- for harm reduction. many of my other colleagues have said we do not want to be involved in anything. we want everybody to stop smoking. the problem is, we have found out in the past that abstinence really does not work. we need to be smarter, do everything we can to eradicate tobacco use. host: former u.s. surgeon general richard carmona on this per gram talking about e-cigarettes.

we are talking with dean of fine maron.-- dina fine at this pointw about secondhand smoke from electronic cigarettes? guest: very little, in fact. because there has been the lack of quality control, there is a variance in a greeting list, we do not know much -- in the ingredient list, we do not know what someone breathing the vapor , how they are affected. host: charles, good morning. caller: good morning. i tried the electronic cigarette, but it did not do too much from a. -- for me. the reason i tried them was to quit smoking. how about worrying about

marijuana? they seem to be regulating that -- legalizing that in colorado, right next to nebraska. i saw the other day there were fourth-graders selling marijuana on school grounds. it looks to me like that might be as bad as an electronic cigarette. host: dina fine maron on the marijuana versus electronic cigarette? guest: what is at the heart of the controversy of electronic cigarettes is that it is being viewed as some cash by some people as a smoking cessation by some people as a smoking cessation device. that is what i am talking about in the may edition of the magazine. host: a couple of tweets that have come in over the course of

the segment. on the proposed fta regulations, "i think it is a sad day when the federal government believes it can outlaw bubblegum flavored vapor." ina has a question for d --"do all deliver the same concentration of nicotine, or are there light and ultralight brands?" guest: good question. there is such a wide variance of nicotine levels right now. because they have not been regulated, there is no set them up for how much nicotine should be in any given device. there would not be a restriction on flavorings, although there does exist one for conventional cigarettes. with electronic cigarettes, they can still move forward at this point for flavoring. lori is waiting from mount clemens, michigan. good morning. caller: good morning.

thanks for taking my call. i just want to say i started using the e-cigarette four years ago, and i was a smoker for over 25 years. that was the only way i was able to get off of tobacco cigarettes. i feel that i am a much healthier person now as a result. breathe, iise, i can am not in the hospital every year with bronchitis or pneumonia from smoking. i am a registered nurse, and i recommend them to my patients who are trying to quit smoking because i have seen -- there may be some health risks involved, but i feel that the risks i am taking are a lot less than when i was smoking. e-cigarette's were banned, i would probably go back to regular cigarettes. i am addicted to nicotine, i admit that. it is a nicotine delivery system, such as the patch or the gum or other forms.

things that we give out in the medical field to help people quit smoking. i agreed it should not be sold to minors. i don't think big tobacco likes the competition or the money. host: where is the line you draw on the regulation? caller: the fact that there should be an agreement -- a limit on the flavors. i don't agree with that. keep it out of the kids' hands. there is a freestanding store nearby that sells all electronic cigarette products. there is a sign on the door, if you are not 18, you are not coming in. thousand -- there are 20,000 different flavors of -- no, it should not be sold to minors. host: thanks for telling us your experience. maron let dina fine

comment. guest: congratulations on quitting. that is great for you and the people around you. there are regulations on cigarette companies not being able to say that this is a smoking cessation device. other devices that -- other products that did not work for you that you try to quit with. this issome people say a good fit for them and i am glad it was a good fit for you, but fta is looking at what the science -- fda is looking at with the science might be here. they are looking at whether or not the flavor is attracting youth users. under the proposed regulations right now, they are not taking action to ban the flavoring you speak of. host: we have about 15 minutes left in this segment of "the washington journal." marondiscussed dina fine

's piece in "scientific american," the piece from the may edition. we are talking with viewers about it. i have a special line set up for e-cigarette users, but we will go to debbie in washington, pennsylvania, on our line for republicans. good morning. caller: my comment is that both my daughter and my husband use off --igarette to get nothing works for them. if you have that where you have to have something in your mouth, that sort of a thing that is part of the addiction, it is not just a simple addiction to nicotine, it is habit and whatever. they were able to slowly break the process down to where it was only the nicotine and they were getting off the nicotine, and

once it was zero nicotine, then they were able to just get off e-cigarettes. it also helped that there were those flavors for my daughter, because that is how some people enticed her to start. people like flavored coffees and whatever, and that just -- it intrigued her enough to get her started, and that was a way that she could quit. host: do you think those flavors might intrigue kids enough to get them started? are you concerned about that, as some members of congress are, in the report we referenced earlier? caller: i think it would be a problem with kids because they are going to try anything that is kind of daring, new, and the flavors add to it. be regulatedould for kids, but i really think it should be an option for people as a smoking cessation device.

unless there is a problem in restaurants and such, i really like the idea that my daughter and my husband can use it in thaturants because, again, was almost the draw to use it instead of regular cigarettes. host: i will let you jump in. guest: thanks for your comment. you are not alone in that feeling. a large attraction is that it can be used in public places and the flavoring is an attractive quality, indeed, since conventional flavoring in cigarettes are no longer allowed in the united states. when you speak of easing away from nicotine amounts, i find that interesting. the liquid that you buy, there are cases of people over using the nicotine, so it is interesting that people can also d's the other way. can also ease the other way. the report by members of congress put out last week --

the major findings according to that report all survey companies that reported to the congressional panel or the us -- or this group of members of congress. all survey companies appear to use various marketing practices that appeal to youth. companies promote their products through sponsored or sampling events, many of which to be youth oriented. found that seven e-cigarette companies air television and radio ads during events and programs, including those with youth dealership. six e-cigarette companies market flavors that could appeal to children and teens. manufacturers are marketing ush,ors like cherry cr chocolate treat, peachy keen, and great mint. mint."e

a question on twitter for you -- "which is safer, e-cigarette or nicotine patches?" guest: there is a small amount of science that is looking at that question right now. one of the issues is that with amountotine patch, the of nicotine in it is regulated. since there is no standardization for electronic cigarettes, we don't have the answer to that question. so the fda and cdc has advised that it is safer to use regulated products like the snake -- like the nicotine patch. from here is a story before there were regulations, from a proposed smokers right group in new york suing over the e-cigarette band. the questions here is that people want to be able to use a product when they want to, where they want to, and any

restrictions on that are at odds with that kind of question. this continues to be a simmering debate behind the scenes, now more in the public light. dan inet's go to mackenzie, tennessee, a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning and thanks for the discussion. there are lots of questions that are unanswered about the safety of these devices. i am an addiction specialist and family physician, and i certainly would not endorse and hailing combustible materials in any way. but i have had a number of clients that have been able to give up smoking using the e-cigarette. one thing we know, about 10 times more people die from the effects of tobacco than other causes of death in this country. not have many options in getting people to discontinue cigarettes, so i think the science needs to look at how effective these things are, and with respect to the surgeon

general, what the surgeon general said, we all to think of this as a harm reduction strategy. guest: thanks for the comment. you are not alone in that thought. fda when it took action last week, one of the reasons they did this with a looser approach, is because of the public health and harm reduction approach that you speak of. these devices are quite popular. they have caught on in ways that other devices have not in the past, and they do seem to work with some users, enclosing the ones that including the ones that called in earlier today. host: john is a republican from mississippi. good morning. caller: i have never smoked in my life. i am 71 years old and was raised by parents who did not smoke. i don't remember any conscious effort why i decided not to smoke, i just didn't. i was not worn off or scared off , i have just never done it. but the speaker there made a

comment that 500,000 deaths annually due to smoking, and i have also heard a number that i cannot remember at this instant of the deaths due to secondhand smoking. down toyear ago i went our local coroner's office and i asked the question -- do you ever put on a death certificate, "died of smoking," or "died of secondhand smoke." so my answer is no. i understand if someone smokes for 30 or 40 or 50 years and died of emphysema, it is probably due to smoking. but i have always questioned that statistic that people died of smoking. i wonder what -- what criteria are applied to determine if the coroner does not put it on there that this individual, you know, joe someone who died at 83, -- >> i am not in expert on death

certificates. there are always questions about what to put on that line in terms of immediate and secondary causes of death. as you point out, if someone dies of lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, often a physician would link those back to smoking if indeed the user had a long history of such. i cannot answer the specific question where the number comes from. >> kevin denver writes in on the twitter page -- i like electric cigarettes. if you are addicted to nicotine, best product available. what do we know about the sales and usage stats on electronic cigarettes. they are quite popular. they have become an almost $2 countries are investing hundreds of billions of dollars in which companies right now -- they are cheaper than a conventional cigarette and up until this point they have been easy to get. you can find them online, buy them in vending machines.

they are not required to have a special license to sell them. cigarettes can only be sold in certain spots, but e-cigarettes i guess have been sold in a much more widespread fashion. either under agencies involved? cdc, fda, nih, have all been funding work, ask payers and funding work looking at these questions. exposurefrom secondary to primary exposure to flavoring question. fda is looking at it. we will be sure to know more things, but perhaps not for another five or 10 years. is our spotlight on magazines, and we are talking with dina fine maron, "scientific american," her article in the may edition, "are cigarettes safe?"

we go to a democrat from columbia, maryland. caller: it seems like this --ctronic cigarette is nicotine is known to have over 1000 cancer-causing agents, and i am just wondering why this nice lady here who is very educated did not emphasize that point. as far as i am concerned, if you are a young adult and you are 21 years old and you want to smoke it, fine. but this is another thing of sugarcoating a poison that will be given to our youth. guest: thanks for your question. if i understand it correctly, you're talking about the potential risk inherent with an electronic cigarette. is one of the ongoing questions we do not know about. it has been a successful attempt for many including conventional

cigarettes, which have significant harm, whereas with an electronic cigarette it appears to be safer in many aspects, and indeed many public health experts, including top officials at cdc conclude this is a safer choice. has a question. is there any relation to the hookah trend across the country, and are these products owned by big tobacco? guest: thanks for the question. what is interesting is that hookah would also be regulated with the congressional regulations. ah has grown in popularity in the united states after it -- in other countries. in the last couple of years there has been a significant investment from big tobacco

companies that have seen that the market is really blowing up, expanding for electronic cigarettes, and they are seeking to get a corner in that market. to mat waiting in annapolis, maryland. a democrat. good morning. caller: thanks for taking my call. first i want to make the point that the reason e-cigarettes are so successful is that they are nicotined fastest delivery system into the body. is, if aion i have pharmaceutical company came out with the electronic cigarette, wouldn't they be thought of as saving the nation as opposed to it being so harmful, it even though they have done their own research? guest: interesting question. if a pharmaceutical came out with it -- and indeed a chinese pharmacist is the person who invented the current iteration

smokingey label it a cessation device, they would be regulated by the fda. if it had a beneficial health impact and was a smoking cessation device, they would be regulated by fda and we would have more science. host: in terms of the study of electronic cigarettes, some companies are putting out their own studies or have promoted some of their own studies. you talked about some of your efforts to get your hands on those studies. what did you find out? guest: one of the complicated questions as we do not have good systems to look at the methodology behind these questions. for example, if you are smoking and you have certain substances in your body, when they break down come you can see the byproducts, how the body processes them and what the outputs are. we don't have the same answers for a product like properly and glycol. glycol.propylene

if yous no real standard are using a smoking machine and adapting it for vaping. these are ongoing questions we need to address if we want to get sound science comparable across the board. host: who pays for some of these studies? do the electronic cigarette companies themselves fund some of them? guest: some of them certainly are. in my article, i talked about how njoy earlier this year went on their -- their director went on npr and talked about how they had clinical trial data talking about the success behind their products and how safe it was. when i asked for that for the purposes of my article, they gave me a short term smoking cessation study, which was not a clinical trial as people understand it. it did not look at the long-term

health questions that you would think they looked at. separating out the rigor in different studies remains something that fda, eu canada, tryinguntries, they are to parse this right now. host: let's go to bob waiting in freberg, pennsylvania. caller: the editorial. host: i am not quite sure what that was, but you mentioned other countries and what they are looking to do. what are some comparable regulations that are out? took: the eu in february -- they would standardize and nicotine levels, which is not something that fda has proposed to do, and they would have child resistant packaging under their proposal. they, too, did not take action on flavoring. they are leaving that up to member states. canada is also aching it illegal

to sell an electronic cigarette preloaded with nicotine. a differentment is question because indeed many reports indicate that people are whereable to buy them they buy the nicotine online. that remains something that they want to tighten the loop on in canada. how long before the fda regulations might go into effect. ?ow long is the comment period guest: after the fda proposed this, they have 75 days of public comment. the window closes after that. questions, then the fda will review all the available science and comments that came in. they would issue a final ruling remains an open question. you might get thousands or tens of thousands of comments, and

that takes a while to sift through, as you might expect. dina fine maron is a writer at "scientific american compo joining us -- as "scientific american," joining us to talk about electronic cigarettes. thank you for joining us for our spotlight on magazines segment. that is our show today. we will take you live to the house and see you back here tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. eastern, 4:00 a.m. pacific. oom, washington, d.c., april 30, 2014. i hereby appoint the honorable charles j. fleischmann to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the order of the house of january 7, 2014, the chair will now recognize members from lists submitted by the majority and minority leaders for morning hour ebate.

the chair will alternate recognition between the parties with each party limited to one hour and each member other than the majority and minority leaders and the minority whip but in to five minutes, no event shall debate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, in davis, for five minutes. mr. davis: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor the cherry family from gerard, illinois, as they prepare to retire from a family operated business for more than 100 years in illinois. cherry's opened in 1908 as the gerard city meat mark owned by clarence cherry as an extension of his family farm located one

mile away from the farm. in the 1950's it turned into a grocery store. in 1987 phil's son, jim, took over the store and has owned it until this day. it's hard to overstate the importance of a local grocery store and what a strong local grocery store can mean to the residents of a small community like gerard. for more than 100 years, they were more than small business owners, they were friends, community leaders and public servants. they embodied all that is great about this country and they achieved the american dream. so congratulations and thank you to the cherry family and enjoy your well-earned retirement. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. gutierrez, for five minutes. mr. gutierrez: thank you, mr.

speaker. tick, tick, tick. the clock and the calendar march on. congress has took a two-week vacation and i'm back to remind my colleagues we need to stimulate the economy, keep families together is ticking together. with 25 legislative days until the july 4 recess, the republicans have a difficult task and it gets harder by every passing day. last week i saw the speaker of the house in his district urging his republican colleagues to get to work and legislate on this important issues. republicans from colorado to new york are calling for reform and in my home state of illinois, practically every republican running for office came out to stand with former speaker denny hastert and the business community to say they want republicans to allow a vote on immigration. one speaker, carol sigel, the co-founder of crate & barrel,

shared the microphone of who american kids whose parents are being deported. and there wasn't a dry eye. and i know why i shop at crate & barrel. the majority leader did not, i repeat, did not list immigration something the house should address this spring. it is nowhere on the legislative calendar. in order to fix what is broken about our immigration system, we must do three things at the same time. we must repair and improve our legal immigration system so we can eliminate the black market. we must strengthen and humanize our enforcement system so our laws serve our national interest. and we must legitimize and destick ma ties those people destigmatize those to earn their privileges and fulfill their responsibility our great nation demands. the easiest way for republicans to get this issue behind us is to schedule a vote on the bipartisan bill that passed the

senate last year. an hour or two of debate and 15-minute vote is all we need. not one of the republicans who think that legislating on immigration reform this year is too hard needs to vote for it and it will still pass comfortably the house of representatives. but house republicans say the bill have too many pages and don't have the imprint of house republicans. ok, fine. we've introduced the discharge petition for h.r. 15 for any republicans who change their mind. republicans say they prefer a series of a bill that address the three components of the bill. fine. pass it and we democrats will work with you in the republican majority. but remember more bills take time and time is not something the republicans have plenty of. republicans have said they don't want a special path of citizenship to adults who enter the country illegally. they want some sort of noncitizenship status that might or might not lead to citizenship over time.

and my side finds it very hard to swallow. at least we want to keep talking and hear you out. we want to reach a bipartisan agreement and move forward. democrats think that citizenship spornt and we think playing by the same set of rules is very important to the american people. but orks. if this is the only way -- but, ok. if this is the only way you can fix the three components of immigration reform, let's see if we can reach an agreement. we warn if obama does anything, even a clarification of the current deportation policy, republicans say obama will be poisoning the well for reform. this from a party that seems to hardly need an excuse to scream about mass amnesty, mexicans rushing across the border and obama's plot to undermine and sabotage america. but sadly, even some important democrats don't think any form of presidential action would be prudent at this time when it comes to deportation. they seem to be saying, let's

just ride out the pain of deportations in the immigrant and latino community as we scorch the do-nothing republicans. maybe we can try again when democrats are in charge guinean though we didn't do the last time we were in charge. yes, democrats had 257 votes and we didn't call a single vote for four years on comprehensive immigration reform. one by one, deportations are driving fathers and mothers out of our communities and leaving children in foster care. neither party is free from blame and neither party seems to have the appropriate level of urgency when it comes to the deportation, the devastating effect our broken immigration system has our immigrant families. the republicans control the calendar and democrats will bring 200 votes to the table if you work with us, but we must all be willing to put it all on the line, to stand up for what is right, what is achievable and what will heal and strengthen our nation. we still have the next 25 days. time is of the essence, mr.

speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from kentucky, mr. barr, for five minutes. mr. rr: thank you, speaker. i rise today to highlight an industry that is at the very center of the culture and economy of kentucky's sixth congressional district. our signature equine industry. central kentucky is rightfully designated as, quote, the horse capital of the world. but this is a little title that we happily share with our neighbors in the city of louisville on the first saturday of may. as we celebrate the highlight of the thureo bred racing season, the -- thurobred racing season, the kentucky --y the run for the roses, i want -- the run for the roses, i want o talk about the significant

economic and jobs impact in kentucky and beyond. when you think of the kentucky derby, the fastest two minutes in sports, you think of the first running of the derby in 1875. you think of orb who run the derby last year in 2013 and all of the great thoroughbred horses who came in between, from sir barton in 1919, the first triple crown winner, war admiral who was, of course, in seadisket.th secritarit.mes, the winner in 1977. the last triple crown winner, affirmed, in 1978. despite the growing popularity of the thoroughbred racing industry and the vast number of our constituents that enjoy equine recreation, many americans remain unaware of the

significant impacts of the horse industry on our modern economy. the horse industry has a significant presence in at least 45 states and across many different facets of the economy. according to a comprehensive study by the american horse council, the nation's 9.2 million horses created $102 billion in annual economic activity. this economic engine supports 1.4 million full-time jobs and in our commonwealth, the commonwealth of kentucky, it is estimated that 80,000 to 100,000 people owe their jobs to our signature horse industry. while many outside the industry perceive thoroughbred racing, perhaps, as a sport only for the rich and famous, we in kentucky know differently. we know that is simply not the case. horse farms in my district range anywhere from small family operations with fewer than 20 acres and only a half dozen mares to world renowned

breeding operations that attract thousands of mares from across the globe. they support related industries such as agriculture, manufacturing, retail, tourism, just to name a few. and i would invite anybody watching on c-span to come to central kentucky and visit some of our world famous horse farms. clearly this is an industry that brings people with an affinity and passion for horses together, regardless of their socioeconomic background. kentucky's horse industry is critical to our economy, which is why i led a number of efforts in congress to promote the equine industry. i serve as the chairman of the congressional horse caucus, and this caucus serves as a forum to provide members of congress the opportunity to learn about the impact of government policies that impact the equine industry and to collaborate with government leaders and industry stakeholders from across the country. i've introduced two bills impacting the tax treatment of horses. the first bill, h.r. 998, is titled, the equine tax parody

act. this would eliminate the 44-year-old tax provision that discourages investment in the equine industry and discriminates against equine assets. the second bill, h.r. 2212, titled, the racehorse cost recovery act of 2013, would make permanent the three-year depreciation schedule for horses, for racehorses which is critical to the health of kentucky's horseracing industry as well as job growth in other horse-related industries. i plan to advance these critical bills and urge my colleagues to contact my office to support these important legislatives and important job creating initiatives. in conclusion, mr. speaker, as we gather for friends and family this saturday, the first saturday of may, to watch the 140th running of the kentucky derby, again, the fastest two minutes in sports, let's not forget to honor all of the men and women who make this great sport possible. from the farm to the sales to

the track and beyond, horses require the love and care of each dedicated professionals and without their efforts, the efforts of the owners, the breeders, the grooms, the jockeys, the track operators, the employees and all of the people who support the horse industry, without their efforts our great horse industry, our great pastime simply would not be possible. thank you, mr. speaker and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. quigley, for five minutes. mr. quigley: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today in hashoa, holocaust remembrance today and remember the atrocities in nazi occupied europe where millions people lost their lives. in every generation, we must bear witness to the holocaust to fully understand what transpired and to ensure this

would never happen again. to fully comprehend the horrors of the holocaust, we must lay our eyes on the hallowed grounds where the cruelist crimes against humanity were perpetrated. i recently returned from ukraine. there i stopped to pay my respects at the site of the massacre in kiev. to stand on the place where more than 100,000 people were shot and buried in a mass grave brings reality to the horrible accounts of the massacre. every person had a name and a story. i have twice visited auschwitz. i walked through the rooms where the prisoners slept, filled now with the possessions they left behind. i saw the fields where prisoners stood, waiting in line for their meager rations. i saw the walls where jews were lined up before nazi soldiers shot them. i saw the gas chambers where you could still see scratches on the walls from prisoners desperate to escape.

every person had had a name and a story. when i followed the train tracks out of auschwitz i reversed the path that led so many to their final resting places. i am committed to remember when senseless hatred prevails. the hatred and intolerance that led to these crimes against humanity is still alive today. at some point, no survivors of the holocaust will be alive to recount their heroic and heartbreaking details of their survival. we must make sure that we never repeat this dark mark on world history, by teaching our children tolerance and never forgetting the innocent victims of the holocaust. the hebrew word means we will remember, though holocaust remembrance day was observed on day, i ask we prevent genocide in our

lifetimes and in the future. thank you and i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. hinojosa, for five minutes. without objection. mr. speaker, i rise today to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in recognizing and celebrating the day of the children. on april po, many countries around the globe especially in the western hemisphere dedicate this special day to the children. whereas the national latino children's institute serving as a voice for children has worked with cities throughout the united states to declare april 0, 2014, to be dia de los

knownos, celebrating young americans. a day to bring together latinos and other communities in the united states to celebrate and uplift children. i urge all americans to nurture and invest in all children and support them in leading healthy and prosperous lives. in honor of the dia de los ninos, i encourage all americans to instill creativity, ingenuity, and love of learning in all children and to support federal investments that expand access to a high quality education for all. from cradle to career. in honor of dia de los ninos, i urge president obama and house and senate leadership to pass commonsense immigration reform and take bold steps to protect immigrant children and keep families together. for latinos, passing humane

immigration reform and reuniting children and parents who have been separated by our nation's broken immigration system is of the utmost importance. family reunification and providing much needed relief to millions of immigrant children, youth, and families is critical to the health and well-being of latino families and to our nation's future. in honor of dia de los ninos, i call on our nation's parents to become more involved in the education of our children. as the primary teachers of family values and culture, i urge parents to encourage their children to go to college and to contribute to our nation and to their respective communities. above all, i ask parents to preserve and pass on their rich language and cultural

traditions to future generations. we in south texas recognize the rich cultural traditions that exist along the u.s.-mexico border region, and we are proud that many of our children speak at least two languages. and we are determined to increase educational attainment at every level. in the united states, many latino families continue the tradition of honoring their children on dia de los ninos, today i wish to share this custom with my colleagues in both the house and senate and with all americans. given the significance of the dia de los ninos in the western hem atmosphere, i urge congress to honor the gift of latino and immigrant children to society by designating april 30 as dia de los knownos, celebrating young children's.

thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from illinois, ms. duckworth, for five minutes. ms. duckworth: a new club in illinois represent the future of our country. these 24 middle school girls built their remote operating vehicle and equipped it with motors and underwater camera. they did all the electrical wiring themselves from scratch. and at a competition at the university of illinois, their submersible vehicle picked up items from the bottom of the pool's floor. these girls represent millions around the country that have the ability to achieve greatness in the stem fields. it is now our job to support them. when i was in flight school learning to become a helicopter

pilot, all the flight instructors asked me to please try to find more army women to join flight school. they said that women made excellent natural pilots, but that they were less likely to even come forward and apply to the flight training program than their male peers. i wonder how many girls around the country could achieve great things in math, science, or even flight school, but are simply unaware of the opportunities that are out there for them. we need to make sure that our public schools have the resources to invest in stem education and that girls are encouraged to reach their full potential. this isn't about just empowering our daughters, but it's about building the future of our economy and strengthening american competitiveness abroad. stem education is crucial to providing good jobs for future generations and allowing our businesses to succeed. mr. speaker, let's follow the example of the science chicks

and support stem education throughout this country. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cooper, for five minutes. mr. cooper: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the job of a congressman is simply put, to keep america number one. this congress is failing at that job. today the financial times reports that for the first time since 1872 america will soon no longer have the largest economy in the world. this is the headline, china to overtake the u.s. as top economic power this year. we are losing our position to china, which is overtaking us some three years earlier than expected. even more important, last week

"the new york times" reported that our middle class, which used to be the world's richest, no longer is. this congress simply must take responsibility for this. this congress must pass job creating pro-growth legislation. for this congress has failed to do that. this congress has failed to take up and pass major infrastructure legislation, immigration reform, tax reform. we know how to solve many of these pro-growth problems, but this congress is he refusing to do so. mr. speaker, my colleagues should not blame anyone else for this mess. we are the largest body of elected leaders in this country. all we need to do to solve these problems is look in the mirror. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from illinois, mr. ush, for five minutes. mr. rush: i want to thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i come to the floor today to address the statement made just yesterday by the nba commissioner, adam silver. as we all know, mr. speaker, commissioner silver dealt wiftly, decisively, and rawley with the reprehensible racist tirade that has been attributed the los angeles clippers' owner, mr. donald sterling. mr. speaker, i come to the floor today to applaud

commissioner silver for his forward thinking, decisive action, and i applaud taking ner silver for in ningful step forward improving racial relationships here in america. a very g an impact, progressive impact, on the culture of our nation. or forbidding the racial and racist attitude of any seek to l that may hide behind the popularity and e celebrity status that we

give to our athletes and other ntertainers. mmissioner silver's response to mr. sterling's appalling to ments sent a message all those who may hold racial or divisive attitudes, discriminatory attitudes that there is no place to hide here in the united states of america. and we should be all focused, whether it comes from this floor of the house, whether it comes from the other body, whether it comes from any

corner, we should all be outraged and the racial attitudes of intolerance and indifference and their hatred that's being -- that's being spewed across the airwaves of ur nation. three times over this last month we have heard reprehensive commentaries by others. and he we should all have felt at se of enormous outrage the incompetence of these individuals. but there's more to be done, mr. speaker. and the one thing that is fore me, the nba, the owners have to do what they are

required to do. i urge the owners to do what is best for the clippers, what's best for the players, -- players in the nba. the nba itself, and what is best for the fans of the nba. and what is best for the nation. this morning rs to remove mr. sterling from the privileges of owning an nba team, remove him from the equation that he currently do it finely and firmly, and do it quickly. we need a decision by the nba owners now. a decision to remove mr. sterling. mr. speaker, i thank you.

i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, for five minutes. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, the united states department of transportation yesterday delivered to congress a draft highway re-authorization, which proposes to remove the prohibition on pooling existing capacity on interstate highways. as my colleagues are aware, the interstate high which system was created to enhance the flow of goods and services throughout the country. these investments have served to improve our economy and the lives of our citizens. while allowing america to remain competitive in a global market. polling simple, existing capacity will do nothing more than our economy.

any attempt to remove it must be highly scrutinized. in my home state of pennsylvania, in 2007, a scheme was put together to toll interstate 80. this was a prime example of betrayal of public trust. where the commonwealth under then governor rendell, aimed to use toll grants on other projects unassociated with the interstate. mr. speaker, tolling can work for new capacity or to mitigate congestion by providing alternative lanes of travel, but it must be done in a transparent manner. . this was a cover yote for cronnyism throughout the brokse -- cover-up for cronyism throughout the bureaucracy. now, i'm looking for a fiscally responsible way on transportation projects across the country. and as we move forward on a new